Blackmail At It's Finest
by Soruka-Chan
Summary: Naruto's unrequited love had taken the interest of Ino, whom wants to sabotage Sakura and Sasuke's relationship while she still can! But her plan might involve Naruto to get closer to Sasuke than he would have ever imagined. SasuNaru AU HighSchool
1. Chapter 1: This could get messy

**Hey! I have yet to update my other story, but I got this idea, and had to type it before I forgot about it! (I have lots of other ideas typed too, but im to lazy to actually write the complete story. :/) Anyways, hope you enjoy, and thanks for reading!**

**Rating: M, for, well... reasons ;) (and language!)**

**Main EVENTUAL pairing: SasuNaru  
>"Implied pairings": NaruSaku, NaruIno, SasuIno, SasuSaku, etc. Nothing major, though.<strong>

**Summary:Naruto's unrequited love had taken the interest of Ino, whom wants to sabotage Sakura and Sasuke's relationship while she still can! But her plan might involve Naruto to get closer to Sasuke than he would have ever imagined. SasuNaru AU HighSchool **

**Disclaimer: Narutos and idiot, Sasuke is too. I don't own Naruto, neither do you! ^_^**

**Fun little side note- Konoha High's School colors are Navy Blue, Green, and White. I got the colors from the standard Jounin uniform. Ya know, the weird blue jump-suit thangs, with the green vest?**

**Warning: I suck at spelling, and I don't fully understand Betas, so bear with me, kay?**

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><p>Naruto Uzumaki walked apathetically through the halls of the Konoha Public High-School. He was dreading Iruka's class with every fiber of his being. If he was late, he could care less. The halls were full of bustling kids running to and fro, worried about being late for class. They shoved their way through the crowded hallway, glaring at kids in their way. Naruto was a victim of those hateful glares and glances. You see, Naruto wasn't the most popular guy around. Sure, he had a small group of good friends, but he put a lot of excess effort that shouldn't be required to form a friendship. You wouldn't believe the lengths he went to win someone over! He even went as far as to cosplay at the local anime convention - But thats another story.<p>

Anyways, back to the story, Naruto wasn't that popular. People just didn't seem to like him. He didn't know why, but as he got older, he started to care less and less. When he was younger, all he ever wanted to do was be acknowledged as a fellow human being, and who knows if hes even managed that today?

Naruto grew accustom to the cold galres, but he sometimes wondered if he would be better off dead, that maybe, just maybe, life would be less troublesome for everyone else if he was gone. _'If I died, would I get out of Iruka's History test?'_ One could only hope.

The late bell went off, and the halls were completely empty. Well, except for Naruto, of course. It was just after lunch-time, and Naruto found himself rather lazy around that time. Lazier than normal, that is. The sun reflected on the glossy white floor, making it shine as if it were a still lake, reflecting on the blue lockers and giving them a surprisingly warm glow. He finally came to the corner and spotted the familiar class- B4. He ran an agitated hand through his blonde, unkempt hair, and pushed open the classroom door.

He was greeted by the very familiar, all-knowing stare that Iruka gives him, before scratching off Naruto's name on his clipboard as 'tardy'. Naruto trudged to the back of the room, tossing his raggedy black bag covered with buttons, pins, and straps on the floor, and plopped down in his seat. Class went by agonizingly slow, and Naruto pulled out his sketch pad to get his daily fix of doodling. In someways, he liked sitting in the back. He got to be by his friend Kiba, and the teachers rarely called on him (except for Iruka. He genuinely believes that Naruto has 'potential'. Can you believe that?).

Now, most kids in class B4 (and Konoha High in general) hated sitting in the back. Weather it was because they actually couldn't see the white board, or they didn't feel comfortable sitting at a table with dirty smack-talk engraved in it. Others didn't want to because of all the perverted sentences written on the desks that should never be uttered out load, and would indeed beg the question of, "Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?" Lastly, in most cases, the students didn't want to sit in the back because Sasuke Uchiha, school heart-throb and resident ice princess, always sat in the front. It was hard to stare at your (along with every other insane women under the magical 'Uchiha spell') crush from the deep, dark, corners of the class. Which, even right now, Sasuke is always srrounded by the majority of the female population.

Ino Yamanaka and Sakura Haruno sat to his left and right, trying to out-wit each-other, and be blessed enough to have the Uchiha so much as glare in their direction. Why Sasuke didn't have a girlfriend still puzzles Naruto to this day. He practically has them all wrapped around his finger. If they were on a bridge, and Sasuke wanted them to jump, Naruto would bet you twenty bucks that they would, indeed, jump.

Even Ino and Sakura, the school most popular ladies, wouldn't bat an eyelash if it meant getting them closer in the running of becoming "Mrs. Uchiha". Now, there were girls like Naruto's right-hand man Shikamaru's girlfriend Temari who didn't adore Saskue, but even she could admit he was cute. It didn't matter if you liked him or not, the boy was _hot_. He looked effortlessly sexy, dressed in his tight maroon crew-neck shirt and matching black jeans and jacket. His skin was creamy and flawless, and his eyes were two big orbs of darkness and pain that never would be understood. Hell, he even made _high-school boys_ question their sexuality. In other words, he was sin personified.

This was very much unlike Naruto, with his navy-blue jacket (and vibrant white zipper, of course. Naruto loves bright colors.) with skinny black jeans (which he sagged, of course. Like every-other boy at Konoha High). He always appeared to be wearing his special necklace that was the glistening color of blue, purified water, and made his equally mesmerizing eyes 'pop'.

They bell finally rang, dismissing Naruto from his daily visit to hell, and he began packing his bright orange spiral and bite-mark-covered pencils. "Hey man, I gotta high-tail it out of here." Kiba chatted as he shoved everything in his bag, "Hanna told me to come to the family pound to help out with work, cause' my Moms gotta meeting to go to. You gonna be okay riding home by yourself?"

"Yeah, of course. What do you think I am, weak?" Naruto hoaxed, playfully punching Kiba's shoulder. Kiba grinned, and returned the favor. "See you later, gator!" The brunette yelled over his shoulder, as he raced out of class.

Naruto was about to leave too, until Iruka had to butt-in and say, "Naruto, please wait a couple minutes after class. I need to talk to you." Naruto dramatically sighed, and took a seat next to the door. As he waited impatiently, he could hear Ino and Sakura conversing away about the after-school fall festival activities, and latest fashions, while Sasuke looked irritated and wanted to get the hell away from them.

"I think a respectably dressed women looks more appealing." Sakura added, with her sugar-coated smile. "Yeah." Ino nodded in agreement (though you wouldn't think she thought that way, considering how skankily-clad she is.) "A sophisticated women can go from professional to dangerously sexy in the blink of an eye."

"What do you think, Sasuke?" That was the girls secret tactic of getting Sasuke to give them hints on his type of girl. Of course, if anyone was a master of mind-games, it was the Uchiha himself. "Hn." Came the boys monotone grunt, as he left the class. Sakura looked down dejectedly, and Ino 'tsked' at the obvious brush-off.

"Ungrateful jerk..." Naruto muttered as Sasuke walked past him on his way out. The raven glanced at him, hearing an attempt insult to his pride. As he locked eyes with the perpetrator, he gave him a knowing smirk. The kind that said "I heard you, but Im not going to indulge you by gracing you with my presence, and well-worth time." Naruto returned the favor of giving Sasuke 'the finger'. You know, 'the finger' that had the subliminal message of 'Go fuck yourself'. Sasuke ignored the crude gesture, and left.

"Sakura, I need to speak to you, too." Iruka said. Sakura and Ino shared a suffering look, and the pink parasite nodded. "I'll wait for you outside." Ino announced as she fled the room. If you're confused on what type of relationship the two girls had, it was best explained with this phrase: Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. They used to be best-friends when they were younger. Yes, during their youthful days, Ino protected Sakura from bullies, and Sakura helped out around Ino's Parent's Flower Shop with her. But, that all changed in Middle School once the girls hit puberty. They both made Sasuke their target, and often clashed heads. They eventually grew apart. The first year of High School, they tried to preserve whatever little friendship they had left, and that is where they are now.

As the class finally cleared, Iruka motioned for the two to come over to his desk. The conversation went along the lines of this;

"Naruto, you're grades have dropped significantly in the past few weeks."

"They were never that great to begin with."

"Naruto, don't talk to Mr. Umino that way!" -insert Sakura glare-o-death-

"I'll do what I want. Its a free country." (Great way to talk to the girl you've had a crush on since, like, ever.)

"Naruto, this is serious. I was thinking Miss Haruno here could possibly tutor you."

"What? Tutor _him_? Sorry Mr. Umino, but I don't have enough free time to." (Translation: Screw that! Im too good to be seen with a mentally-defective dunce like him!)

Iruka sighed. "Fine, then. I suppose I can get another person to tutor you, Naruto." Naruto scoffed in disbelief. "I don't need a tutor! Last time I got a tutor, she called me a dumb-ass!" Iruka glared at the blonde, sailor-mouthed lad as Sakura stared in utter disbelief.

"Her name was Tenten, Naruto. And she didn't call you stupid. Plus, you walked out of there before she could actually teach you anything." Iruka tried to reason, but it was all in vain.

"Whatever! She implied it, and thats all that matters. She was a bitch." Ah, Naruto's big mouth was bound to get him in some serious trouble sometime soon... Very soon.

Iruka scribbled fiercely on a piece of paper and shoved it in Naruto's face. "Whats this?" He asked.

"Detention slip. I've given you detention for your fowl language, and until I find you a tutor." Iruka explained.

"Bull shit!" Naruto blurted. Iruka raised a brow. "Naruto, do you want more detention?" He asked.

Sakura gave him a superior smile and turned to walk away, Naruto following her like a lost puppy, cruely accapting fate. Sakura closed the door, and turned around, only to be face-to-face with Naruto.

"Sakura, I know you don't want to, but I really need your help." Naruto confessed. "I don't want to get held-back a year."

Sakura took this moment to look Naruto up and down, as if fully seeing the boy for the first time. She sighed in annoyance. "Naruto, im busy with extra credit, and cheerleading. Besides, why should I help you?"

"What about Team Seven?" Naruto asked, desperately. "We were all such good friends, and-"

"Thats it, Naruto! We were good friends. Key word: were. Now stop. Im seriously annoyed with you right now." And leaving no room for argument, she turned around and left.

Naruto stayed there, watching his long-time crush's retreating figure. He dropped his bag and leaned against the concrete wall. He slowly sunk down, his feat spread-out in front of him in a careless manner, defeat and rejection pulsing threw his body. It didn't matter if he was home by a certain time or not, he lived alone. He heard footsteps echoing through the hallway, but he didn't care to look up. "Its probably just some student-council nerd staying late..." He mumbled to himself.

"Excuse me?"

Naruto's eyes widened. He knew who it was. He snapped his gaze over to the speaker... Ino Yamanaka.

"Sakura left." Naruto said, poker-face and all. Ino sighed, crossing her arms."You're awfully pathetic."

"What?"

"Sakura." She gestured her head in the direction the pink girl left. "You like her? I never even noticed with the way you too bickered. I guess boys do have weird ways of displaying affection."

Naruto didn't know what to do, or what to say. Part of him was mortified that she found out, another part of him was happy someone acknowledged his unrequited love. But, most of all, he was completely heart-broken that all his declares of love never, _ever_ went noticed by anyone. Had no one even realized how much he cared for the medic-in-training?

"I'll take your silence as a yes." Ino deducted, inspecting her incredibly fake, well-manicured nails. Naruto looked back down, avoiding the girls piercing gaze. "I can help, ya know." She offered, off handedly.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, lopsidedly making an attempt to stand back up. "Simple. I like Sasuke; You like Sakura. Help me get with Sasuke, and a little heart-broken, pink-haired gal is yours. Deal?"

"Your not serious, are you?" Naruto asked, skeptically. "Theres a catch right? Whats the catch? Theres gotta be a catch..." You couldn't blame Naruto for not trusting her. He was a victim to bulling and pranks (he did some pranking himself, by the way) for most of his school life. From all the experiences he went through, this was a sure-fire trap._ 'Ino wouldn't just offer to help someone like me that freely.'_

"Look, Naruto." Ino huffed, a little intimidated by Naruto's hight. "Ive known you for a long time. I don't claim to know you well, but I _do_ know that you never waste a good opportunity." Bull shit, but neither of them dared acknowledge it. "I can get you anything you need; front-of-the-line lunch-pass, a nerd to do your homework, a higher placement on the social food-chain. Anything, you name it."

"Why _me_?" Naruto asked. "You could chose anyone, so why me? What about Chouji, or Shika, or Sai?"

"I have my reasons. Look, do you want to help or not?"

Naruto knew it was wrong. It was cheap, dirty, and wrong. Almost worse than Orochimaru being a teacher (though nothings worse than that). But he made up his mind. "Deal. I'll help you." Naruto picked up his bag, and wiped of his pants. Ino began walking away, her pony-tail hair flapping behind her as Naruto ran to catch up. "So how do we go about doing this?" Naruto asked, casually clasping his hands behind his head.

"You need a tutor, right?" Ino asked, as she was lost in thought. "Yeah, why? W-Wait, how much of my conversation with Sakura did yo-" Ino held up her hand, ending Naruto's rambles. "And you use to be something whom some-what resembles a friend of Sasuke's, right?" Naruto nodded, not seeing where Ino was going with this. She abruptly stopped at the front doors of the school, and whooshed around, facing Naruto. The fall light outside gleamed through the window, brightly coloring the flaxen-colored couple, heat beaming on their skin. "Naruto, we have our first lead." She said with a sly smile. "Your going to help me sabotage Sakura's relationship with Sasuke. At least, whatever little 'relationship' the two have." Naruto's eyes widened, looking at the female blonde in shock.

"Dont be afraid to get your hands dirty, Naruto. Ive officially got black-mail on you." Ino advised. She turned to walk out the door, a fall breeze envelopes her as she steps outside. Just as shes about to leave, she gives one last long look at Naruto."Be careful, moron. This could get ugly, really fast."

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><p><strong>-sigh- And so begins the story. Things will really get going next chapter, don't worry. This ISNT a NaruIno story, its SASUNARU, so chill-out. I know at least one of you is thinking 'What is this NaruIno bull shit?' <strong>

**NEXT CHAPTER:  
><span>Plan A: Sabotage<span>  
>Someone is out to get Sakura, but who? With the night-time School Halloween Scare game, and Naruto and Ino's failed attempt at winning a certain Uchiha's attention, Ino might just be forced to take drastic measures. And when that might include a certain whisker-faced boy to get a little too close to an old frenemy.<strong>

**It all happens next chapter! (Don't worry, I'll get a lot more Sasuke next chapter. I know he only appears shortly in this one. Sorry!) **

**Future chapter will be longer, I promise. ;)**

**Anyways, reviews cause inspiration! Loved it? Hated it? Couldn't care less? Review, and tell me what im doing right/wrong!**

**Thanks!**

**Love-**

**Soruka-Chan**


	2. Chapter 2: Plan A! Sabotage!

**Heyyy! Im so happy with the response! I guess some of you were actually expecting Sasuke and Sakura to be a couple, but their not. I guess I may have implied that in my summary, so im sorry for the confusion! My horoscope (yeah, cause im just that legit) said that I would discover that I have awakened a new power that I must embrace! Lucky me, huh? Any-who, thanks for reading! As far as updating goes, im not the best at it... I will get better, though, because Im going to get a laptop soon! Yay! I have a lot planned for this story, so I hope you guys stick with me to the very end!**

**On a side note: I have never actually written a lemon before :/ but, im willing to give it a shot if you guys want me to write one. I'll just study-up on some storys, and do the best I can!**

**Oh, and any sentence with a + in front of it is a text message. Dont worry, you'll see what i mean.**

**BTW: This takes place about week and half or so before Halloween, so Naruto's birthday already passed.**

**Oh, and as I promised, this is going to be a long chapter! So, enjoy! (it really is long... sorry -_-)**

**Sorry for any spelling mistakes! Im terrible at grammar, and I dont have a beta. You've been warned! **

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><p>After Ino left, Naruto walked over to the bike area. It was a secluded lot on the side of the school, with a metal fence all around, decorated by the school's all-natural dirt and starting-to-rust poles. It was pretty worn-down compared to the rest of the school. Naruto made his way over to the familiar black Whitton II bmx bike with orange accents. Yeah, so Naruto was seventeen, and yes, he didn't have a car. How is a teenage boy suppose to actually afford a car, when he can barely pay his rent? He has to stock-up on cup-of-noodles because they are so cheap!<p>

Naruto unclasped the bike-lock, and hoped on. He started riding out of the school area, and made a sharp left on the sidewalk. It was a beautiful fall afternoon in Konoha. The trees were turning lovely warm colors of yellow and orange. So, naturally, Naruto loved fall. Plus, his birthday was in fall. It was as if Mother Nature turned the trees orange just for him. Most of the houses were well built, with perfectly groomed yards the color of an expensive emerald jewel, lined with eye-popping flowers (probably from Yamanaka Flower Shop). The air was fresh, the scenery was beautiful, and he townspeople were nice. Konoha was the place to be.

Naruto made another left turn, pulling up to his apartment complex. He lived upstairs, but Jiraiya let Naruto keep his bike down by his apartment. It would be too much of a hassle for Naruto to lug his bike up to his place.

Naruto stomped up the staircase, looking for room three-twenty-five. He smoothly inserted the key, and kicked open the door. He slammed it behind him as he entered, walls shaking from the impact. Naruto was loud, even unintentionally. He set his keys down on his counter, and kicked off his shoes. His apartment was pretty much a description of himself; colorful, warm, and a little messy. It was relatively small. Two rooms, one bath, a small living area attached to a kitchen and a balcony over-looking the down-town streets of Konoha. He had a brown couch up against the wall, facing a t.v. he got for his birthday, thanks to Granny Tsunade. He also had a messy 'study desk' that had seen better days. Not that he actually studied there. His dinosaur of a laptop sat proudly upon the messy desk. There were also some plants scattered-about in his house, because Naruto secretly had a 'green-thumb'.

Naruto snagged an orange soda out of the fridge, grabbed his laptop, and lazily sat on his couch. He clicked on the t.v. and booted up his computer. As he logged on, his phone buzzed, causing him to jump from being startled. "Shit..." He mumbled as he fished out his phone. The text was from an unknown number. He opened it.

+'_Hey, this is Ino. I got your number from Shikamaru. Ive got some ideas.'_

Ino? Texting _him_? _Naruto Uzumaki_? Ino is conceited and popular, why would she need his number? Oh yeah, shes was pretty much blackmailing him, duh.

+'_Kay. Wat do u need 2 talk about?' _He sent back. He got a surprisingly quick reply.

+'_You, me, before school. We start there. Oh, and try to text in normal words. :('_

Naruto grumbled, and saved her number to his contact as "Blonde Bitch". Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

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><p>"See this?" Ino asked, shoving a neatly folded piece of paper in Naruto's face. "These are my brilliant ideas!" She smiled proudly, as Naruto took the paper and read it over. They were sitting at a table in the back of the library at seven in the morning, before school. That was the earliest Naruto had ever been to Konoha High, and when he asked her why so early, she simply said, "Because no one will be there, so I wont be seen with you." Shes so considerate, isn't she?<p>

"Make him jealous, flaunt your stuff... Lock Sakura in a closet? Score the highest on the tests. Seduce him- Ino, this is horrible!" Naruto gapped, as he looked back up at her. "These are your 'brilliant ideas'?"

Ino huffed. "That's another reason why I needed you. Everyone knows your the best at pranking."

Naruto gave her a thoughtful look. "Why thank you." He said with his stupid grin. "Now," He asserted on a more serious note, "Have you seen the movies?"

"Movies?" Ino asked, confused. "Ive seen tons. It depends on what your talking about."

Naruto gave her a long look. "The parent trap? Election? Hm... You look like someone who watches Disney..." He nodded to himself.

"Naruto, what the hell are you going on about? Are you trying to tell me you like chick-flicks...?" Ino asked, confused.

"No, no! Never mind, I came prepared." Naruto dug into his bag under his seat, and tossed a granola bar to Ino. It was wrapped in shiney green aluminum, with foreign words printed all-over. She inspected the bar, and tried to read the title. "Huh? An Aw-mento dee... what?"

"Aumento di peso Nutrizione bar" Naruto corrected her. "I know this world-wide professional doctor." He explained. "Her name is Tsunade. Shes obsessed with herbs, and medical pills. That is a special bar she got from her trip to Italy, to treat an extremely sick child named Chi. Chi's parents were doctors as well, but they couldn't find out what was wrong with her. They heard about the old-bag Tsunade's medical reputation, and asked her to come out and help Chi. As a reward, they shared some of their medical research with her."

"Yeah, thats all well and great, Naruto, but how does this help?" Ino questioned, irritated.

"Aumento di peso Nutrizione bar is Italian for 'Weight gain nutrition bar'. Look, I spent a long time last night coming up with this plan, so you got to do everything perfectly, got it?" Naruto demanded, more than asked. Ino nodded.

"All right, your in student council. The Halloween festival is coming up, and class B4 has yet to choose their event. At the next meeting, your going to suggest that our class does a 'scare contest'. What that is, is a contest at school during the night." Naruto explained, rather quickly. "We will be separated into groups of two, by drawing our names out of a hat. I'll be in charge of the event, and I'll rig the drawing so you're with Sasuke. Then, whoever I'm teamed up with and I will try to scare you guys. You get really scared and hysertical and Sasuke will 'comfort you' if ya know what I mean." Naruto winked. Ino sat there blinking, analyzing all the information.

"You honestly think Sasuke would just comfort me like that?" Ino asked incredulously.

"Of course not! But, If theres one thing I remember about Sasuke, its that hes super competitive. If you make a big fuss, he'll do whatever he can to keep you quiet so he doesn't loose. You catch my drift?" Naruto inquired.

Ino nodded. "But what does this weight gaining bar have to do with this?"

"Simple. Take Sakura shopping for Halloween costumes today. Start giving her the bars, telling her it will help her loose weight. Eventually, she'll be too big for her costume the day of the contest, so she'll have to improvise."

"Ew, you'd still like Sakura, even if she was fat?" Ino probed.

"Yeah." Naruto replied with a small smile. "I guess I would." Ino was silent.

"Alright! Great plan! You're actually smart, aren't you?" Ino broke the silence, as she gathered her things, slipping them into her dark-purple Prada bag.

"Hey, don't sound so surprised!" Naruto yelled, insulted. The head librarian Mrs. Yuhi attempted to shush Naruto. "Besides, I got some help from Shikamaru..." Naruto reluctantly admitted, just above a whisper. Ino gave Naruto a knowing smile, before exiting the library. She had a lot to do.

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><p>"Sakura!" Ino called out, as she entered class B4. As usual, the bubble gum-haired girl was sitting next to Sasuke, trying to pry his attention away from his Dracula novel and pay attention to their 'conversation'. Ino strode over to the unusual pair, and took her seat in the row in front of them. She turned her chair towards their desk, sitting across from Sakura and Sasuke, forming a sort of triangle. "Halloweens coming up! We, like, totally need to go shopping! Today, after my meeting, okay?" Ino demanded, crossing her arms and legs.<p>

"OMG, yes!" Sakura squealed. "I have an idea of what Im going to be!" Sakura brushed her long pink hair off her shoulder, and flashed Sasuke a 'sexy' smile. "I thought of you in mind when I came up with the idea." Sakura tried to flirt with him, only it looked awkward and pathetic. Ino sighed.

The school bell rang, and Iruka walked calmly into the room, with his regular "Good morning class!"

The period was as it always was; announcements, Iruka's lecture, Naruto coming in late (even though he was super early to school), Shikamaru sleeping, Kiba attempting (and failing) to answer a question right, Hinata glancing and stuttering, Shino dozing out the window, Sasuke was brooding, and all seemed right in the world.

After the dismissing bell wrung, Ino excitedly bounced up out of her seat, and grabbed her things. "Sasuke, we have our student council meeting!" She announced, for all to hear. Sasuke grunted, as the two walked together to to meeting.

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><p>"So," Tenten began, glancing at her fellow student council members. There was Ino, Sasuke, Neji, Deidara, Sasori, Kankuro, Zaku, Kin, Tayuya, Sakon, and herself. "For the Halloween Festival, Class A2 is throwing a party, class B1 is producing a talent show, C5 is having an apple-bobbing compatition, A1 is having a costume contest, and what is class B4 doing?" She asked. Her suave chestnut eyes glanced over to Ino and Sasuke expectantly.<p>

'_Time to put the plan into action_' Ino thought. "Actually, if its okay with Sasuke, our class will be having a scaring contest." Sasuke raised a brow, and looked questioningly at Ino.

"Scaring contest?" Neji asked, intrigued. "Please explain."

Ino cleared her throat. "Our class would like permission to have the school from eight to twelve o'clock at night. We will have a scavenger and scaring contest. That is, if its okay with Sasuke." She looked over at said boy pleadingly.

"Well?" Zaku asked impatiently. Zaku wasn't very fond of the raven. Sasuke had caused him to break his arms when he tried to prove he was better at skateboarding than him. Of course, Sasuke didn't actually break Zaku's arms, it was Zaku's own cockiness and laziness. Not that he would ever admit it.

"Hn." Came the cool response.

"Hn? What the hell does that mean?" Kankuro asked, agitated. "Its a yes or no question!"

"Allow me to translate." Deidara spoke up. "He says yes." The blond artist's friend Sasori rarely spoke, and often grunted a lot. Deidara had managed to crack the code after about two months, and could understand what he meant.

"Tch, so you speak bastard?" Tayuya snorted.

"Are you calling me a bastard?" Sasori seethed.

"Seemed like it to me!" Kin chided, fist-bumping Tayuya.

Ah, the Konoha's student council took dis-function to a whole new level. "So a scaring contest it is!" Tenten smiled, scribbling it down on her clip board.

'_Yes._' Ino mentally high-fived herself. '_Phase one, down. Now for the shopping._'

* * *

><p>"How about this?" Ino asked, stepping out of the dressing room. She was wearing a skanky Halloween nurses outfit that accentuated all her curves and hugged her in all the right places.<p>

"So cute! What about me?" Sakura asked, dressed as a pink and red fairy, glitter and all. Ino shook her head. "Nuh-uh. Did you honestly think of Sasuke when you picked that out? Hold on, I'll be right back." Ino changed back into her pale purple summer dress and short white mini jacket, and searched for a new costume.

The girls were currently at "Snake cosplay", the biggest and best costume store in all of Konoha, rightr next to the "Snake Tattoo" shop. It was run by a women named Anko Mitarashi. The shop was a big warehouse full of racks, plastic bags of costumes, props hung up, wigs and masks lining one wall, special effects make-up opposite of the props. Ino made a mental note to get some make-up. She was skilled when it came to cosmetics.

Ino spotted a costume. "Perfect!" She smiled as she picked the costume off the rack. She made sure to get a size smaller than Sakura was. She came back to the dressing room, and shoved it at Sakura.

Once Sakura came out of the dressing room, Ino smiled. It was a light-pink, show-girl bunny costume. It fit Sakura to a T.

"Ino, your a genius! Only its a little tight..." Sakura added, tugging at the cloth over her lower abdomen.

"Don't worry! Here," Ino dug in her purse, handed Sakura the french bar. "It'll help you loose weight."

"What is it?" Sakura asked, inspecting the green packaging.

"Health bar. It... um... Helps curve hunger, boost metabolism, and keeps your colon clean!" Ino quickly made up. It sounded convincing to her.

"I don't know..."

'_Damn, shes still not convinced..._' Ino shrugged. "Well, ya know, Sasuke likes the skinny girls." Ino pushed. Although, she had absolutely no idea how wrong she was.

"Really? How do you know?" Sakura questioned.

"He also likes girls with short hair." Ino added, effectively dodging the question. "You might wanna take-care of that." She said, pointing to Sakura's long pink hair. Sakura looked offended.

"You should have told me earlier!" Sakura quickly opened the package and began to wolf down the nutrition bar. "Got any more? Im gonna need lots."

"Don't worry." Ino smiled. "Theres a lot more where that came from."

* * *

><p><em>'Halloween is stupid'<em> Sasuke deducted as he sat in his room. He was planning on moving out of this hell-hole once he was old enough to leave. He certainly had the money to do it. He only had to endure one more year, or so.

Sasuke was sitting at his futuristic glass desk, doing homework. He got bored, and swiveled his chair around to turn on his flat-screen t.v. To his utmost dismay, he found that most of the commercials were for Halloween, and pretty much every channel had some form of a "Halloween special" on.

School had been hectic because everyone was excited for the festival tonight. Sasuke contemplated not going, but because he was in student council, it was required. There was a soft knock on his bedroom door. Sasuke sighed. "Come in."

The door opened softly, and revealed his mother. "Sasuke, you need to get ready. Your class's festivel event is in a few hours." Sasuke grunted. "Sasuke, what are you going as?" Sasuke didn't reply. Mikoto sighed, and left the room, entering the bedroom across the hall. This caught Sasuke's attention, because that was his older brother Itachi's old room. Before he moved out, that is.

His mom hobbled into the room, carrying a big, teal-colored bin. "This is a bunch of Itachi's old costumes." She explained as she dropped the box. Sasuke groaned. _'Great, just another way to follow Itachi's foot-steps...'_

"Your father might not have know this, but Itachi just_ loved _to cosplay!" She squealed, unlatching the plastic top. She rummaged through the tub, pulling out wigs, nail-polish, capes, make-up, cloaks, pretty much everything you needed for a costume. "Gee, I remember, Itachi loved dressing you and your little blonde friend up! What was his name, again... Haruto?"

Sasuke flinched. "Naruto..." He mumbled.

You could practically see the light-bulb go off over Mikoto's head. "Naruto Uzumaki! That's right! Kushina's son! What ever happened to him? He was such a nice fellow. I'm sure I still have some of our old pictures of the two of you in Itachi's costumes..."

"Mom?" Sasuke asked, iritatted.

"Hm?" She glanced back at her son.

"Your making a mess."

"Oops! Sorry!" She said, embarrassed. "Well, I'll leave you to get ready! Sorry for the intrusion, Sasuke." Mikoto bowed before closing the door. Sasuke returned to his work. Or at least, he tried to before he hit his desk in anger.

He just couldn't concentrate anymore.

* * *

><p>"This is amazing!" Naruto yelled, throwing his hands in the air. Him and almost everyone else from class B4 were gathered around the lunch table just outside of the school's door, next to the big oak-tree. Ino told everyone that they all needed to be here by seven-thirty so they had time to explain the rules, and what-not.<p>

"Looks like were missing some people..." Shikamaru droned. He was laying on the grass next to Chouji and Kiba. Chouji was dressed up as a chef, Kiba was in a dog costume, and Shikamaru was sporting a traditional sheet-ghost. He said it was to troublesome to actually dress-up.

"Sasuke, Ino, and Sakura." Temari replied, crossing her legs. As if on-cue, Ino came jogging up to the group in her nurse-attire. She grabbed ahold of Naruto's arm, and yanked him off the lunch table.

"Since your running the event tonight for extra-credit points" Ino said, barley winking at Naruto. "I need to discuss some things with you." She dragged him away, around the corner of the school. Ino glanced back around the building to make sure they were out of an earshot. "Alright, moron. How do you plan on getting me grouped with Sasuke?"

Naruto sighed at his new-found nickname. "See this?" He held out two shiny, black, plastic hats. "This one has everyone's names, except for Sasukes and yours. They other hat only has your two names. I bring around this one," Naruto gestured towards the plastic hat with everyone's name within. "Then I'll pretend to trip like the klutz I am, and I'll need you distract everyone. Ten seconds is all I need. I'll switch the hat I'm holding for the hat with your guy's names in it, which will be hiding under the desk that I trip by."

"Devious..." Ino whispered. "I like, no, I _love_ it! Who knew you were so smart?"

"Ino, _your_ calling _Naruto_ smart?" A very high-pitched voice spoke from behind Ino. The two whirled around quickly, looking as guilty as can be.

"Sakura!" Naruto said with a forced smile. Then he got a long look at her. "What happened to you? What are you supposed to be?" Naruto asked, examining Sakura's... costume?

"I'm suppost to be a Doctor!" Sakura replied, angrily. She was wearing blue, plastic scubs that belonged to her mother. "And what the hell are _you_ supposed to be, Naruto?"

Naruto growled. "Im supposed to be a ninja, duh!" Naruto almost yelled. He was wearing all-black. He even had a ski mask that he wasn't wearing at the moment. Naruto, though it so happens, can actually make a 'ninja' look pretty damn hot.

"Whatever, it doesn't matter. What matters is the fact that someone is out to get me!" Sakura shrieked. "Im gaining weight, like, crazy fast! I try to work it off, but nothings working, and the fatigue is starting to get to me! I'm loosing sleep, I couldn't find my make-up... Everything is wrong!" She cried.

Naruto gave her a sympathetic look. Ino laced her arms with Sakura. "Don't worry, I'll help fix you up, a bit. Naruto will explain everything." Ino grabbed the hats out of Naruto's hands. "I'll drop these off in the class on our way to the restroom." And the two left.

* * *

><p>When Naruto returned to the lunch table, he realized that Sasuke was there. He was also wearing a black costume - go figure. Naruto scoffed as he sauntered up to the boy. "And what are you supposed to be, emo?" Naruto teased. Sasuke gave him a death-glare.<p>

"No, I'm Zorro, dumb-ass." He replied, unphased. It was true, too. Sasuke was wearing the shirt, cape, mask, and everything. It certainly complimented his thin figure, and muscular body. Naruto huffed, and took everyone to the classroom. The school was creepy at night. There was darkness around every corner, and scary posters and decorations were hung everywhere. Naruto sighed in relief as he finally found class B4.

"Alright!" Naruto spoke, loud and proud. "Everyone take a piece of paper from this hat!" He ordered, bouncing around from person to person. They all silently agreed, taking their slip of paper. Just as planned, Naruto tripped in front of Ino. Ino screamed, and pointed in the opposite direction from them. "I could have sworn I just saw something move!" She cried.

"Ino, are you bull-shiting me? You just trying to get everyone scared..." Kiba scowled, but couldn't help looking over his shoulder, slightly paranoid. Naruto had snatched the other hat, and finished up his 'passing-out' job.

"Okay!" Naruto yelled, uncapping the orange white-board marker. He was going to write who everyone was paired with, so there were no mistakes. Everyone opened their slips, one at a time. Just so there were no cheaters. Most people were satisfied, until it was Sasuke's turn, of course.

"Whose on your paper?" Naruto asked, turning to the whiteboard expectantly. He was prepared to write down Ino's name, until he heard what Sasuke read.

"Naruto."

Said boy dropped his marker, and look at Sasuke. "What?"

"Naruto. My slip says Naruto. Are you hard of hearing, or something?" Sasuke mocked. Naruto growled, and looked at the slip._ 'This is not good._' Naruto thought. _'Not good at all...'_

"Who did you get, Ino?"

"Sai." She mumbled, clearly irritated at the kink in their plan.

"Alright, then!" Temari grinned. "If that's that, then lets get started!" She reached into the duffel-bag, and pulled out flash-lights. She tossed one to one person in each pair. "Remember, If your caught, meet in front of the school."

Murmurs of 'okays' and 'get on with it, already!' could be heard through-out the room. "Okay. Ino, We'll have your group find first."

"Remember, try to scare each-other!" Kiba added. It was going to be hard to hide such a loud mouth like him, but Hinata will probably manage.

"Well, if thats it, then... Go!"

Everyone fled the room as if their life depended on it. Ino ran by Naruto, glaring at him. She would definitely talk to Naruto about this later. Naruto would have gotten trampled, if it weren't for Sasuke, who had a death-grip on Naruto's arm, dragging him down the hall.

"Woah, slow down!" Naruto yelled. He was a quick runner, but he was never able to out-run Sasuke. Sasuke seemed to be content with ignoring Naruto, and kept running. The blonde boy fumbled with the flash-light until he was able to click it on, and Sasuke came to a sudden stop.

"What are you doing?" He asked, staring at Naruto.

Naruto faltered under his harsh gaze. "I'm turning on the flash-light, jerk. What does it look like I'm doing?" Naruto thought that what he was doing was pretty obvious.

"No, your not." Sasuke stated, snatching the light out of Naruto's hands. "If someone were to see that, we would be caught. Only morons use flash-lights."

"Then how the hell are we supposed to see?" Naruto yelled, getting angry. Jeez, just being around Sasuke made his blood boil.

"Just trust me." Sasuke sighed, grabbing Naruto and trudging down the long, dark hallway. Their footsteps echoed, and shadows seemed to move and expand. Naruto was getting really freaked out, when he heard a blood-curdling scream, he jumped and shivered involuntarily. Sasuke cast him a worried look, then shoved him in an abandoned class room. There was another scream, that sounded louder.

"Their getting closer." Sasuke whispered. "Stay on the look-out. I'll check for a good hiding place." Sasuke turned around, and started checking the desks, the cabinets, anywhere there could be a hiding spot. Naruto peered out the door, but all he saw was foggy darkness. He thought he heard footsteps, but he couldn't see anyone... "Sasuke, I think someones coming!" Naruto whispered. The other boy just ignored him.

Sasuke came across a closet. He walked inside. It was relativly small, but there was a carboard box that they could use to block the entrence. "Sasuke, seriously!" Naruto whispered. Sasuke just kept searching. He inspected the door. It squeaked a bit when you pushed it. He also noticed something else. _'That could be dangerous...'_

Naruto heard louder footsteps, and panicked. He was terrible when it came to getting scared. He was obviously an easy target. One more increasingly loud footstep, and Naruto_ knew_ someone was there.

"Screw it!" Naruto hissed under his breath. He ran towards Sasuke and pushed him into the closet.

"Naruto!" Sasuke growled, but it was too late. Naruto slammed the door behind him, allowing the darkness to envelope the pair. Naruto held his breath, as he heard footsteps pacing through the room._ 'Are we caught already?'_ Naruto's mind raced. After a few minutes, the footsteps disapeared, and Naruto sighed in relief.

He then tried opening the door - Only to find it was stuck. "Naruto, you idiot!" Sasuke all but yelled. "The door had a safety lock on it! Now we can't get out!"

"Safety-lock, my ass! I'll get us out of here, you'll see!" Naruto was always one for keeping his word, but this he could not follow through with. He banged on the door, kicked it, even threw all his weight on it. "Damn door won't budge."

"No shit." Sasuke mumbled from behind him.

The weight of the situation was finally sinking in. "I need to call someone! Anyone!" Naruto flipped open his phone, hysterically. He scrolled through his phone-book, going down to "Blonde Bitch". She'd come get them, right? Sasuke swiftly snapped Naruto's phone shut, and took it away. "Bastard, what the hell are you doing?"

"I'll tell you what Im_ not_ doing." Sasuke said. Naruto couldn't see Sasuke through the darkness, but he could practically feel Sasuke's dark, boring eyes glaring into his soul. "Im_ not_ letting you call anyone, and Im definaltly_ not_ loosing. I dressed up and came here to win, Naruto. For all they know, were still hiding. Just wait until the game is over, and we'll be the last un-found group. Then, we win."

"Sasuke..." Naruto whispered. "Are you telling me that I have to spend the next four hours locked in this closet with... well, _you_?"

"Hn."

This was going to be the longest four hours of his life.

* * *

><p><strong>Ah, and so the awkwardness begins! What do you think will happen? Sorry for sucha long chapter. I just fealt that this chapter needed to end somewhere around here. <strong>

**Am I the only one who could picture Sasuke dressed up as Zorro, and reading "Dracula" the novel? Or Itachi cosplaying? :P**

**Next Chapter:  
>Four hours in hell!<br>Being trapped inside a small closet with your ex-best friend can be real awkward! Especially when you end up in uncomfortable positions! Old feelings arise, and the truth comes out! Sasuke and Naruto's friendship unfolds! To add onto that, Ino suggests her new plan, and things start to get complicated. **

**BTW the nutrition bar is completely made-up**

**Anways, thanks for reading, and please review! It causes insperation!**

**-Soruka-chan**


	3. Chapter 3: Four hours in Hell!

**Hey guys! Thanks for the positive feedback! Its my birthday Today! (May 8th), and Im proud to say that I have survived for yet another year! Woot!**

**Does it ever bug you guys when you see your story get _so_ many favorite/alerts and not much reviews? Don't get me wrong, I am greatful. Ive seen other storys that have been up for two years and still only have close to no reviews! Im not trying to beg, but feedback on what I'm doing right/wrong would be helpful! I actually sometimes find it relatively easy to find insperation for a story. Unless I come up with a story and post it, before I actually have time to decide how this is going to end... -_-"**  
><strong>But I'll get there eventually! ^_^<strong>

**Im bad at spelling! You've been warned!**

**oh, BTW, can you guys see the scene-break lines? Cause when I try to 'live preview' them, I can't see them. But, on my typed version I can... So, please let me know! I'll improvise if you can't!  
>~Thank you. That is all ^_^<strong>

***ahem* On a lighter note, I hope you enjoy this chapter! :D**

* * *

><p>Naruto spent a good twenty minutes pacing back and forth in what little space there was. It was starting to get warm and he was stuck with an anti-social prick in the pitch-black. Naruto honestly couldn't think of anything worse than that.<p>

Naruto abruptly turned, tripping over an object. "Dammit!" He cursed as he flopped onto the cold, hard, tiled floor.

"That was my foot, idiot." Sasuke scowled.

"Well, I _would_ be able to see, If a certain Bastard let me use my phone for light!" Naruto retorted, getting back up. Sasuke raised his eye-brows.

"You can't see?" The ink-haired boy asked, incredulously. "And, will you stop pacing?"

"No, Sasuke, I can't see in the dark! What do you think I am, a fucking vampire? And _no,_ I won't stop pacing!"

"Why not?"

"Because!"

"Because...?"

"Because your making me uncomfortable!" Naruto blurted out, in Sasuke's general direction. The minute his lips uttered that sentence, Naruto slapped his hand over his mouth. Sasuke was stunned. He knew that things would have been odd between them ever since _that_day, but he didn't expect Naruto to be uncomfortable, just by his mere presence.

"I make you uncomfortable?" Sasuke crossed his arms and legs. He was sitting on the large cardboard box in the far corner, opposite of Naruto. The blonde boy ran an agitated hand over his face. He knew that this day would come eventually, he just didn't expect these circumstances. _'It's now or never'_ He told himself. Naruto nodded, silently agreeing with himself. He slid down the wall, leaning against the hard object for support. He tried to muster up a decent response. He had planned for this day for years, but he just couldn't seem to find a reply.

"I just...I don't know..." Naruto offered, lamely. "It's been a long time." He admitted. "I guess we really haven't changed that much, from what I'm aware of." Naruto paused, hesitantly. "It's not like it was me who ended it, though."

"So your going to play the blame-game now then, hm?" Sasuke asked, angrily. Naruto knew he was treading on enemy territory now. "Besides, I can't end what wasn't there to begin with!"

"So it was nothing, then, huh!" Naruto snapped. Sasuke growled under his breath. He didn't mean for his words to come out like that. "All those years of spliting gram-crackers, beating each-other up, playing video-games... It was all_ 'nothing'_ to you?"

Had it been that long? Sasuke hadn't realized it until now. He used to now everything about Naruto. He knew just how to make him happy, and cheer him up. He also knew all the buttons to press, to get him angry. Hell, he sometimes did it on purpose. But now, he realized that he doesn't know what ticks Naruto off anymore. He didn't know what buttons to press and what not to. He knew, though, that he didn't want to press the wrong one.

"Naruto, thats not what I meant, and you know it. "

"You know what I need? I need an explination. A reason as to why you broke-off our friendship, and just left me like that? For_ two_ years! Two _fucking_ years, you were gone. Then you come waltzing back in our school, and act as if we never meant anything to each-other! Thats what I need, Sasuke! Thats the least I deserve."

_'You deserve so much more than that.'_ Sasuke wanted to say but he knew he couldn't. He did know, though, that if he wanted to make things right between them, he would have to go big, or go home. He didn't hate Naruto, not anymore. He hadn't for a long time. That was the main problem. Sasuke couldn't explain his feelings, and it terrified him. He had to get away, too escape. He knew things would never be the same between them ever again, and he wanted to make that right.

After receiving no response, Naruto tsked. "I knew it. Im not even worth your time of day..." And then there was silence. For the next half-hour, it stayed that way; unbearable, and un-breaking. Naruto dosed off at times, calming down. That long silence gave both boys time to think. Sasuke knew that he was running out of time. If he left things like they were, he knew that Naruto would never forgive him. His problem was that he was unsure how to go about patching things up. Naruto was the one who always extended the olive branch. Whenever they fought, Naruto was the one who smoothed things over, while Sasuke just brooded. Almost, as if he expected Naruto to come crawling back to him. That thought sickened him.

"Im sorry." Naruto broke the silence with a sigh.

"Don't apologize." Sasuke replied immediately, his voice hard. He was almost expecting Naruto to say something like that.

"Why not?" Naruto huffed.

"Because..." _'Because it makes me feel like shit.' _Sasuke wanted to say, but he managed to restrain himself.

"Well, we all know _you_ weren't going to. I just did what I thought was necessary." Naruto said. Sasuke heard scuffling, and he was sure Naruto was repositioning himself. The floor must have been uncomfortable. Sasuke scooted over on the large cardboard box. "Here," He offered. "You can sit down."

"No." Came the Blonde's curt reply. Sasuke growled. This was not going well. More silence followed. Sasuke was running out of time and ideas. "Do you remember..." He trailed off. "Remember when we snuck out of our houses?"

Naruto thought for a moment. "Which time?"

Sasuke snorted. There had been multiple times. "The time when Itachi told us about snipe hunting?"

"Oh yeah!" Naruto grinned. "I really wanted to go. Kiba got caught trying to sneak out and he got grounded for a week. I convinced you to come, though."

"I just wanted to make sure you didn't do anything stupid." Sasuke protested.

"Yeah, sure. Hidan told us that we had to make those funny duck sounds, and Deidara said to bang rocks together. I really wanted to be the first one to catch one."

"Only, it was a prank the whole time. Itachi then snitched on us for sneaking out."

"That stupid Bastard!" Naruto grumbled. "Guess it runs in the family, ne?" Sasuke scowled.

Naruto got up and made his way next to Sasuke. He gingerly sat down, leaning against the wall. The two boys sat like that in the dark for a while.

"We were such dorks, weren't we?" Naruto smiled.

"I wouldn't go as far as calling me a dork, dumb-ass." Sasuke replied. Naruto playfully punched the Raven's shoulder.

"You know, I really missed you, Sasuke..." Naruto said, just above a whisper.

"Hn." Came the reply from you-know-who.

"Do you remember that time we helped Chouji's dad at his restaurant? He was short on workers, so we offered to help. The costumers added tips cause they thought we were 'absolutely adorable!'. Or, all those times Madam Shijimi payed us to look for her cat, Tora? I swear I made_ so_ much money from doing that!" Sasuke smirked. He did remember. He still had the battle-scars to prove it.

Thats how the next half-hour went. The two boys sat there in the dark, reminiscing about all their childhood antics. They never addressed the situation about Sasuke leaving, because they were content with remember their fun-filled childhood. They talked about ditching the academy, pranking their teachers, visiting Kisame's family sushi bar, going to the beach, playing laser-tag, going to the amusement park, bugging Itachi and his friends, and having town barbecues at Sasuke's house. Those were happier times. Things were so much more simpler back then. Naruto still really wanted an explanation, and still felt hostile towards Sasuke, but something about being around Sasuke felt so natural to him. He could joke, and be the retard he was around Sasuke, and he would just brush it of as Naruto being, well, Naruto. The blonde loved being acknowledged as himself. He always wanted to be.

Before they knew it, it was twelve. Sasuke tossed Naruto's phone in his lap. "You can call someone now." Sasuke mumbled. Naruto flipped open his phone, and scrolled down to "Blonde Bitch". He was almost reluctant to call her. He knew he was going to get an earful about how the plan had been screwed up, and how it was all his fault. But, he had no idea what happened! And, in all honesty, Naruto was kind of glad he was partnered with Sasuke. He was able to feel like they were best friends again, if only just for a moment. He eventually gave in, going against his better judgment, and called Ino.

"Hey!... Yeah... Well-... nu-uh... The thing is-... no... yeah, yeah, but-... Will you let me talk, God Dammit!... Yeah, were in a closet upstairs...No! Of course not!..." After lots of explaining, and hassling, Ino and Sai finally got Naruto and Sasuke out. On the walk back, Ino spent the whole time cooing Sasuke about how sorry she was that he had to spend sucha long time alone with someone like Naruto. Naruto, on the other hand, was having a very animated chat with Sai about whether Naruto was 'dickless' or not.

"We'll, there you guys are!" Kiba yelled as they approached the entrance. He looked an Ino, expectantly. "Does this mean they win?" He asked. Ino glanced between Naruto and Sasuke, and nodded. "Sasuke is the best! Of course, he would win!" She cheered.

"Thats not fair! I just knew you two would win the minute you were partnered up. You guys always work well together..." Kiba mumbled. Naruto slung his arm over Kiba's shoulder. "Oh, cheer up, Kibs!" He joked, earning a growl from 'Kibs'. Shikamaru was actually worried that Sasuke and Naruto would kill each-other before they were found. He was, for once, proven wrong. He couldn't have been happier, though. He cared for his blonde friend, and he knew how much he cared about Sasuke.

Temari dumped a huge bin of candy on the ground, and everyone crowded around. They all sat there for a while, exchanging heart-pounding tales, and their personal secret hiding spots. It was loud, and animated. Sasuke was actually content sitting there next to Sai. He usually would have been in a bad mood, and refused to talk to anyone, but today he felt at peace. Sure, Naruto and himself hadn't spoken to each-other since they had been let out of the closet, but he was happy that he had a chance to talk sort of patch things us.

Once it was one-thirty in the morning, everyone grabbed as much candy as they could carry. They stuffed it in their pockets, bags, and hoods.

As everyone departed, Naruto met Sasuke's gaze. It seemed like they had a silent agreement that something had changed between the two. He didn't know what, but he could feel it. Naruto gave Sasuke his signature grin, before lazily waving goodbye, as he walked away.

* * *

><p>Sasuke flopped back onto his bed. He had put his costume back in Itachi's room, happy to change out of the horrible thing. He sat there in the dark, going over everything tonight in his mind. He knew that Naruto and him weren't exactly 'friends', but they were most certainly on better terms than they were before. He heard a knock on his door, and his Mom silently slipped in. Mikoto gingerly sat down next to Sasuke's laying body, and gently stroked his hair. Sasuke couldn't help, for a minute, to think about Naruto. Naruto didn't have a mom to to this to him. He didn't have dinner made when he got home, he didn't even have a car. He didn't have a family.<p>

"How was tonight?" Mikoto asked. Sasuke grunted. "Huh, so it was more fun than you expected then, hmm?" Sasuke shot a glare at his mom. Mikoto smiled in response. She had become used to the famous 'Uchiha-glare' along time ago. It didn't really work well on her anymore. "Well, I just wanted to tell you that your father has a business trip tomorrow, to Paris. He wanted to bring us along. He did the same for Itachi at your age, and he feels that it will be good for your education in economics." Mikoto explained. Sasuke grunted.

"You know..." Mikoto began, hesitantly. "You don't have to go, Sasuke." She was always worried that Sasuke pushed himself too far, just to please Fugaku.

"Don't worry." Sasuke replied, sensing the sincerity in his Mom's voice. "I'll go. I want to, really."

Mikoto nodded, and got up. She stopped at the door before leaving. "Sasuke... No matter what your Father says... I want you to know that Itachi wasn't a 'failure'. Not in my eyes. He was just defining his individuality. He was happy, and that means the world to me. I want you to be happy too, Sasuke." She gave her Son one last long look, before clicking the door closed, softly.

* * *

><p>"What happened then, huh?" Ino all but yelled at her fellow blonde, pacing back on forth. They were at their usual table in the library before school. Ino had been so frustrated. She had to spend the whole evening with Sai's perverted remarks, and awkward, anti-social presence.<p>

"I don't know!" Naruto shot back. "Just calm down and let me think!" Ino took his advice, and sat down. "You took the hat and Sakura to the bathroom. What did you guys to there?"

Ino thought for a moment. "I fixed Sakura up like I promised... But, after I used the restroom, I washed my hands... Some water got on my make-up and it smeared. The game was about to start, so Sakura offered to put the hat in the room..."

"Thats it! It was Sakura!" Naruto stated, with shock. Sakura may be annoying, but she was a smart girl. Naruto loved that about her.

"She _knew_?" Ino asked, stupefied. "So, does that mean Sakura knows?" Naruto nodded. "Dammit, this is going to be a lot harder than I thought... At this rate, she'll never like you, Naruto..." Ino said, off-handedly. Naruto nodded again, solemnly. Ino only confirmed what he was thinking, after all. The bell rang, and the two flinched. They had spent a lot more time in the library than they thought. Ino collected he bag, and turned to Naruto. "I'll come up with a plan during class." Naruto nodded, getting up.

"Make sure you actually put some thought in it, first, before you tell me." Naruto called after the female blonde. Of course, he walked several steps behind Ino, even thought hey were going to the same class. Ino still didn't want to be seen with him. Class was the same, it always was. The only thing was, Sasuke wasn't there. Naruto wouldn't admit it, but he was sort of disappointed. He hoped he could at least talk to Sasuke today. was surprised the Uchiha was gone today, as well. He rarely ever missed school. He was even more surprised, though, when Naruto walked through the classroom door on time.

Iruka set his attendance clip-board down on his stool, and glanced at Naruto's desk. He was actually semi-paying attention. Kiba was bugging him for a pen. Naruto gave in, and threw it at his head, mumbling something along the lines of "Heres a God damn pen! Keep it!"

Iruka chuckled at the sight. Naruto looked back at Iruka and met hiss gaze. The flaxen-haired boy offered a small grin. "Okay, students." Iruka began with a smile. "Today is going to be a good class."

* * *

><p>After class, Ino waited for Naruto at the end of that hall. Naruto was always the last one leaving, except for 'student-council-nerds' as Naruto puts it. Ino instatnly spotted him, with his bright orange shirt and black jeans. The boy looked like a freaking pumpkin, she swore. Naruto was surprised when he saw the familiar purple-clad girl at the doors. "Is there a reason your waiting here?" Naruto asked casually, glancing at the girl.<p>

She nodded in response. "I have another plan. But, we'll need to talk about it at my house." Naruto stared at her, stunned. Ino. _Ino Yamanaka_ was inviting _him_ to her house.

"Are you sure?" Naruto asked. She nodded again. "Kay', but I'll need my bike." As they came up to Ino's car, Naruto whistled in approval. "Nice car!" He began to examined it, when Ino ordered "Stop drooling, moron, and get your bike."

Naruto managed to squish his bike in Ino's white, BMW 1m, and took a seat in the passenger side. Ino pulled out of the parking lot, and onto the freeway. It was a quiet car ride. Naruto was too lost in thought, leaning against the car window. He watched colorful blurs of figures pass by them. After about twenty minutes, Ino came to a stop. They were parked on the side of her family's flower shop. She slammed the car door, and clicked the lock. She took Naruto to the front. It was a pale-yellow Italian-styled building. Flowers showed through the window, bricks lined the concrete, and pots of plants covered the walls. Naruto was overwhelmed by all the different scents of flowers.

Ino waved to her mom. "Hey, hun!" Her mom smiled back. "Whose your friend? He quite the looker..." Mrs. Yamanaka waggled her brows. Ino huffed, and shoved Naruto up the green colored wooden stair-case in the back of the shop. Naruto was surprised to find that there was a beautiful house above the flower shop. It was spacious, full of light colors. It looked just like a beach house, only if you look outside, you would see the busy streets of Konoha. Flowers were everywhere, and it gave off a 'homey' feel. Naruto was led down the hall in to what he assumed was Ino's room. She closed the door behind her, as Naruto took a seat on her bed.

"So, whats the plan?" He asked, dropping his bag on the ground.

"You still need a tutor, right?" Ino asked, walking over to the closet.

"Yeah..." Naruto admitted. "What does this have to do with this?"

Ino hobbled back over to her bed with some cloths on hangers. "Because, your going to ask Sasuke to be your tutor." Naruto abruptly stood up. "Im what!"

"Think if it as 'saving your friendship'. He tutors _you_, you fix-up your friendship, and all while you give _me_ small information about him. Ya know, like his favorite color, favorite music, what he likes in a girl..." She trailed off. "You catch my drift?"

"Ino, thats wrong! I know Sasuke isn't exactly my favorite person right now, but I can't do that too him!"

"Naruto, this is a bonus for you and me." Ino explained. Naruto gave her a long look. Then a thought hit him. '_Why am I helping her? Shes not even... nice.'_ And then another thought hit him._ 'Neither is Sakura.'_

Naruto made up his mind, then and there. "Fine then, I'll do it." He said with a sly smile. _'The tables have turned, Ino.'_ Naruto now had a new plan in mind. He was through with Ino's sick, twisted game. Ino nodded in approval. She was actually kind of worried that Naruto would need more convincing, since hes so stubborn. She was kind of skeptical at Naruto's sudden change in though. "This is a box of cloths." Ino pulled out a stylish purple bin, setting it next to the other cloths. She dug through the box.

"Hand-me-downs?" Naruto asked, examining the stylish clothing.

"Ew! Never." Ino spat. "If your going to hang around Sasuke, you gotta look better than that." Ino said, looking Naruto up and down. "Now I'll leave and let you try them on." Naruto growled as Ino walked toward the door. She glanced back at the blonde boy. "Oh, and Naruto, when we put this plan into action... Try not to get hurt." She smiled, and it made Naruto's gut twist.

The truth was, deep down, Naruto knew they were all going to get hurt. Ino, Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke. It was all a matter of who got hurt first.

* * *

><p><strong>The end of chapter 3! YAY! I actually typed this in one sitting, watching Anime on Adult Swim. :)<strong>

**Next chapter: Plan B**  
><strong>As Sasuke returns, Naruto attempts to put the plan into action! Or, at least,<em> his<em> version of the plan! Sasuke agrees to tutor Naruto, and the two are face with a confrontation put aside for too long! Ino becomes aware of nerve-racking news, and Sakura-... Exactly how much does she know? Next chapter, these four will begin to learn who they can, and_ can't,_ trust!**

**Thanks for reading, and please review!:D**

**-Soruka-chan**


	4. Chapter 4: Plan B!

**All right, I'll admit it! I've been lazy! TT_TT **  
><strong>So I decided to spend some one-on-one time with my good ol' friend: The Skateboard. <strong>  
><strong>Now I know what some of you are thinking, "Soruka, you skateboard? Oh-ho-ho, how old-school of you!" But I really just needed a way to escape and think on my own for a bit. Im sure you guys have a way of doing that too, whether its drawing, reading (yaoi? *Wink~Wink*), playing a sport, etc. We all have our happy place ^_^<strong>

**Plus I have 5 projects i have to work on! 5! A person my age can only handle so much!**

**Anyways, with that being said, Im sorry if this chapter doesn't meet your expectations. It's kinda more of a filler chapter. Naruto and Sasuke back on the road to friendship (and more ;)**

**~sigh~ if only it could actually be that way -_-**

**BTW: This story has flashback(s). They will be in all-italics to you dont get confused. You'll see what I mean. Im going to put a few flash-backs so you get an idea of their pasts, okay?**

**Warning: Im not good at grammer! You've been warned! I try to fix it, but I have a bandaid on, so theres bound to be mistakes this chapter. Sorry!**

**I tried to make this chapter longer, to make-up for the loss of updates! Enjoy :D**

* * *

><p>The week dragged on forever. At least, according to Naruto. Ino had "freshened" him up, too look "presentable". She gave him new cloths and showed him proper etiquette; but she didn't touch his hair. She said, if everything is done right, Naruto could pull-off the whole 'wildly-sexy' look. And Naruto<em> hated<em> it. This was Sasuke. Maybe he has changed a bit, but he never had really cared about how Naruto looked. Maybe he had pointed out how much he wore fluorescent orange, but he never straight-up said "I hate that color, change it."

The old Sasuke accepted him for, well, him. Sure it took a lot to get there, but Sasuke tolerated his presence, and he could live with that. Ino was saying that Sasuke had a certain _'look'_ and_ 'status'_ to live up-too. He didn't have time for nobodies. Appearantly, you need a hot, popular, blonde girl to define if your someone or not, and that just _wasn't living._

Sasuke had been gone the whole week. Naruto was worried that maybe he might have done something wrong, and possibly scared him off. Then he snickered to himself at the thought of Sasuke actually being scared.

He certainly _did_ draw a lot of attention coming to school in tight black designer jeans, a simple black and white plaid polo, and leather jacket. It was all too fancy for the blonde's taste, but he had agreed. He was going to make sure Ino learned not to mess with people's feelings anymore. He just needed to go along with her plans until he can put his _own_ plan in action.

He was waiting for Sasuke eagerly in his regular seat in the back. There were no assigned seat in Iruka's class, but if there were, he was almost _postive_ Iruka would put him in the front. The bell was about to ring, and Kiba was still gone as well. Naruto stared expectantly at the door when it opened.

Naruto hoped it was Sasuke, and quickly glanced at the door. Was it Sasuke? No. Was it Kiba? No. Was it Sakura? Yes. And, boy, she looked like, well, shit. Her questioningly pink hair was frazzled and messy, she had dark bags under her eyes, her face was a bit red, and simi-puffed-up, and she looked absolutely tired.

She trudged to her usual seat, intterogating eyes following her. Iruka cleared his throat, and began class like usual. Naruto had tried to talk to her. She clearly looked misrable.

"Hey Sakura, are you okay? You don't look to well..." He asked her during their second class. Mrs. Yuhi _did_ have assigned seats, and the two were next to each other. She looked up from her work and glanced at him.

"Yeah..." She un-characteristicaly mummbled. Naruto frowned.

"Are you sure?" He asked again.

"Im fine, Naruto" She sighed. She knew she didn't look great today. Things have just been hard for Sakura lately. _Especially_ lately. "Ive just been... Busy with things. It's hard to handle the truth sometimes, isn't it?" Sakura snorted. Naruto didn't quite know what the pinkette meant then, but in the near future, he would.

* * *

><p>Naruto spent a lot of the weekend in his house. He only really left when it was nessisary. Kiba had called him a couple of times, claiming to be sick. He really <em>did<em> sound sick, though. Akamaru could be heard barking in the background as usual. Naruto could almost picture Kiba sitting cross-legged on his modern, dark leather, indian-styled couch, watching re-runs of their favorite cartoons.

Naruto loved Kiba's house. His mom, Tsume, was a lot like Kiba. She was a tough, wild, single mom whom Naruto had always wished he had a mother like. She was intensly over-protected, claiming herself to be "mother bear".

"Naw man, I think I'll be fine!" Kiba reasured a skeptical Naruto. The blonde boy could hear Kiba's stuffiness, but it didn't sound as bad as it did on Saturday.

"Don't push yourself. You missing one day of school isn't gonna make a difference, though. Especially considering how much we ditch class..." Naruto trailed off. They _did_ miss class a lot. But it was nothing important, right? Kiba could be heard coughing.

"It has been kinda lonely, though. Non of the other guys are quite like you, Kiba. Especially Shikamaru and Chouji..." Naruto mumbled.

"Aw, do you miss me?" Kiba teased. "I miss you too, honey" He joked, making kissy noises through the phone.

"Screw you!" Naruto yelled back, half-heartedly. He knew Kiba was only joking. They joked about things like that a lot.

The two sat there for half an hour, animatedly talking about the new Princess Yukie movie coming out. God, they are such nerds.

"Seriously, shes so hot!" Naruto swooned. It was kinda funny. When they were younger, they used to love the action of the movie. Now that they were older, the boys mainly loved the hot actor. Funny how age worked, right? Infact, they saw there first movie together. Of course, Sasuke mom took them.

Sasuke...

"Kiba, get your sick-ass down here! I have to take you to a check-up!" Naruto could hear Kiba's sister, Hana, yell from another room.

Kiba groaned. "Gotta go. Wish me luck, bro." Naruto grimanced. He hated going to the doctor. Tsunade was a world renowned medic, but she was still a violent and demanding girl at heart. They said their goodbyes, and Naruto clicked his phone closed.

Immediatly, silence surrounded him. Naruto sighed. His house was so silent and...and lonely. He flipped over on his bed, and stared at the ceiling, letting his mind wander. Naruto noted that he still had his day-time cloths and shoes on, but he felt to lazy to take them off.

"Maybe I should get an animal..." He mumbled too himself. "Something bizarre, like a turtle... No one ever has those anymore." Naruto quickly shut up, as he realised he was talking to himself outloud in a vain attempt to fill the silence.

Naruto shut his eyes, deciding that now was probably a good time to go to sleep. It was dark outside, and he didn't have anything else planned to do. As he fell asleep, he found himself realiving a very familiar memory.

_"Are you going to make-up yet?" An iritated Kiba asked. Naruto huffed._

_"Nuh-uh! Never! Not until Sasuke does!" Shikamaru wanted to point out how immature Naruto was acting, but he decided against it. They were all sitting at their regular lunch table, eating their regular lunches. Everything was right in the world. _

_Well, accept for the fact that Sasuke and Naruto weren't talking._

_"It's been long enough, hasn't it?" Chouji asked between bites of his rice. Naruto shot him a feirce glare, and Chouji rose his hands in surrender. Naruto cast a long look at Sasuke, who was sitting by himself under the old oak tree with the swing. He looked unusualy sullen. No fan-girls were smugling him. That sight of Sasuke panged Naruto's heart. Today was definaltly a weird day._

_Shikamaru gave Naruto a knowing look and nodded. Naruto sighed in defeat, and got up. He hopped over the metal fence dividing the lunch-area, and walked over to his familiar best friend. Sasuke looked up as a shadow covered his papers. Though, he already had an idea of who it was. _

_Naruto took a seat next to Sasuke by the trunk of the tree, and plopped the Uchiha's dango right out of his lunch. He remembered how much Sasuke hated sweets. That little gesture easily smoothed things over. It was almost like their fight had never happened._

_"Wacha writing?" Naruto asked, curiously. "Did the great Sasuke actually not do his homework for once?" He teased. Sasuke grunted._

_"No, Im getting a head-start on our family tree project."_

_"Tch, nerd..." Naruto mumbled, though Sasuke knew better. He could tell Naruto was hurt. Naruto didn't have a family too do the project on. _

_Naruto grabbed one of the lose sheets of paper next to Sasuke, that contained notes. He skimmed through them. "Whats this?" Naruto pointed to a picture of a young, dark-haired boy, with his hand in front of his mouth._

_"Thats my cousin. Hes attempting to do our family ritual of breathing fire." Sasuke stated nonchalauntly, scribbling on his paper. _

_"Breathing fire?" Naruto gasped. "How?" _

_"Fire kinda represents my clan. It was said that my ancestors would breath fire to scare away their enemies. They were one of the fiercest clans out there. Everyone must preform the fire ritual before becoming a full-fledged Uchiha."_

_"Wow! Thats so cool! Did you do it?" Naruto asked, wide-eyed, taking a huge bite of the dango. He had no idea Sasuke had breathed fire before._

_"Of course. But not as fast as Itachi did." Sasuke spat. Naruto, sensing the sensative topic, tried to change the subject._

_"What do you think I would be? My family, I mean" The blonde asked eagirly, laying down before the Uchiha. Sasuke smirked. _

_"Thats easy. You would be air."_

_"Whys that?" Naruto asked, his blue eyes shimmering with curiosity. _

_"Cause your such an air-head." Sasuke replied. _

_"Hey!" Naruto shrieked, lightly punching Sasuke in the shoulder. _

_"I was only kidding." Sasuke stated plainly. Naruto blinked. "Then whats the real reason?"_

_Sasuke thought for a moment. "Yeah, you definatly would be air." He nodded. _

_"Why I oughta-" Sasuke held up his hand before Naruto could attack again. _

_"You would be air because... Because fire needs air..." Sasuke explained, uncomfortably. He didn't really know how to put it into words. "It's like... fire needs air to breath. With air, fire is blazing, brilliant. Its warm and inviting. Without it..." Sasuke shifted his position. "Without it, fire is gone. Its cold and..."_

_"gone?" Naruto finished, picking his teeth with the dango stick. Sasuke nodded, and Naruto smiled. "Who knew you were sucha poet?" Naruto teased. Sasuke growled. _

_"Whatever."_

_"At least you have a family to do your report on.." Naruto said just above a whisper. Sasuke glanced at the blonde boy. "You know, I... I could help you..." Sasuke offered. Naruto instantly brightneded. _

_"Really?" Sasuke grunted. "Awesome! I'll keep it forever, and ever!" the flaxen-haired boy cheered. Sasuke sighed. Naruto was so loud and obnoxious. But hey, he was air. Naruto was a nessecity._

Naruto woke up moaning. It was still dark outside, and Naruto was really groggy. He looked to his right, glancing at the clock. Five-thirty. Dang, he really needed to get his body-clock back on track. He sat up, and his phone fell off his chest. He then remembered he fell asleep in his jeans and jacket. Naruto sighed, and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He needed to get ready for school anyway.

* * *

><p>It was Monday; the begging of a new week. Yet, still no sign of Sasuke. Ino was getting impatient, and Naruto just wanted to get this whole tutor shit over with. Besides, midterms were in a month or so, and Naruto really did need a tutor.<p>

As Naruto walked down Konoha High's rumor-filled hallways, he realized all the pointed stares he was getting. Some in admiration, and others in jelousy. Non the less, he held his head high.

_'This is all part of Ino's plan_' He told himself. '_If I wear cloths like this, there is obviously going to be some changes in people's attitude towards me._' And it was true. Image meant a lot to high school kids. Not many people really changed 'cliques'. They kept their respectable appearances, and learned their place. Naruto was being daring if he went from the slacker, bad-boy, to a hot, popular guy.

Not many people would approve of that. He was going to need to watch his back.

Naruto was sitting in the back corner of Iruka's class, staring out the window. It was a beautfiul day. A bit chilly out since it was November, but it wasn't unbearable. Naruto groaned. '_Just wait till' late November_' He thought. '_It'll be hella cold, and then I'll have to pay more for my h-_'

"Naruto!" Iruka shouted at the oblivious blonde. "Huh?" Naruto gazed his vision over to Iruka.

"Naruto, can you please explain Hermia and Lysander relationship, from Shakespeare's Midnightsummer night's dream?"

Naruto stared blankly at Iruka. Making a change from "slacker" to "Mr. Popular" was going to be harder than he thought.

"They were secretly in love, and planed on eloping at Lysander's Aunt's house." A deep voice answered from the door. Naruto's eyes widened as he turned his attention to the voice. It was Sasuke._ Sasuke_. Sasuke was back! He was standing there in the doorway, looking nonchalant as ever in his dark tee and jeans.

Sasuke strode over to Iruka's desk, handing him a pale-pink late slip. Iruka nodded, scaning the room. "You can take a seat in the back, next to Naruto."

Translation: "Sorry Sasuke, because you were late, the only open seat is next to our class dunce, Naruto. Take a seat there for now."

Sasuke walked over to the seat that Kiba usually occupies. Naruto cursed to himself. _'Stupid fucking Kiba getting sick...'_

Sasuke didn't even look in his direction. He dropped his bag and slid into the hard blue seat. During Iruka's lecture, Naruto couldn't help but steal a glance or two at Sasuke. He noticed how he seemed to glare at the board when Iruka explained something, or how he looked rather impassive when he was presented with work. He didn't notice he was staring, until Sasuke snapped his gaze up, locking his eyes with Naruto's.

"Are you going to keep staring at me the whole period, moron? You have work to do." Naruto scowled and turned his attention back to his 'work'. He was tired and just couldn't seem to concentrate. The blonde shrugged, and decided to return looking out the window.

* * *

><p>Naruto snapped wide awake once the bell rang. He hadn't realized he fell alseep. He whipped his groggy face. It was probably because he woke-up so early this morning.<p>

"Have a good nap, Sleeping-beauty? Your always such a dumb-ass. You should actually try paying attention in class. I guess we know why you have such low grades." Sasuke mocked. Naruto's face flushed and he glanced around self-conciously as chuckles could be hurt through-out the room. Even Ino was giggling. Normally he could handel insultes, especially coming from Sasuke. But, today, the Raven's word's seemed to struck a nerve.

"Oh, Shuddap!" Naruto growled.

Naruto grabbed his bag and strutted out the door, slamming it behind him. He needed to cool off. Sasuke's sassy remarks always got on his nerves. Jeez, the dark-haired teen had only been here for two hours, and Naruto was already ticked-off.

He slung his bag straps over his shoulder as he approached the ladder hidden in the school gym. Naruto quickly climbed the cold, metal, bars, bringing him to a mini secluded room. He slammed open the door, revealing a wide, open roof-top. He came here often to relax. He always spent hours here after school before coming home. Thats why he always left school late. The blonde boy tossed his bag, and plopped down on the floor. Naruto dug-out his mp3 player from his bag, and clasped his hands behind his head as a make-shift pillow as he laid down.

His mp3 was set on shuffle, and the random songs helped play on his mood.

Already, he felt his anger dissipate. He closed his eyes and tried to collect his thoughts. God, he was such am idiot. He knew he over-reacted. Still, he had hoped that something might have changed between them, since the closet incident. Apparently not. Sasuke was still a Bastard and Naruto was still a Moron.

Naruto sighed. He still had to ask Sasuke to be is tutor. He grimaced. "Great... just fucking great..." He mumbled to himself, aloud. Its not like anyone was here anyway.

Multiple minutes passed, as Naruto laid in content silence. He closed his eyes, seeing nothing but pink as the sun shone on his eyes. Half an hour passed, and Naruto laid there, taking a nap to make-up for the loss of sleep. His eyes shot open as he heard an abrupt scuffle behind him. Naruto twisted his head awkwardly, trying to catch a glimpse of the intruder.

Of course, it was non other than Sasuke Uchiha. Naruto's expression didn't change, but on the inside, he was panicking. He wasn't in the mood to deal with Sasuke right now. He was tired. When fighting Sasuke, you want to be at the peak of your mental condition. Naruto was still groggy, and couldn't think properly. He sat there blinking, trying to wake up his brain.

"What are _you_ still doing here?" Sasuke's familiar monotone voice asked. He was leaning against the metal door-frame, arms crossed and a usual scowl adorned his face. Naruto removed one of his headset pieces, but he didn't move. Well, more like, he didn't _want_ to move. This was his spot, not Sasuke's. No way in hell was he leaving. If Sasuke wanted the spot, he was gonna have to fight for it.

"What do you want, jerk?" Naruto growled.

Sasuke sighed. "Still as touchy as ever, I see. Quite the drama-queen." Naruto blushed. It didn't take an idiot to find out he was talking about Naruto's dramatic exit of the classroom.

"S-Shut up." The blonde stuttered. "Look, lets just get down to what you came here for." He said fiercely, composing himself. "Im not leaving here, okay? Nothing you do is gonna make me leave." Naruto stood his ground. Sasuke took a minute to asses the situation. He nodded to himself, and pushed off the wall. Sasuke calmly walked over to Naruto and tossed his bag on the ground. The ebony-haired boy sat down next to Naruto, a few feat away, sitting criss-cross. He used his hands to prop himself up, and looked at Naruto expectantly.

They stared at each-other for a few minutes, before Naruto smiled. "So, your not kicking me out then?" The flaxen-haired boy asked. Sasuke grunted in response. The two boys sat there for a while, staring at the colorful sky. It was turning dark. Beautiful shades of blue, orange, and pink danced across the sky, painting the perfect sunset. The usual, chilly fall breeze could be felt, especially from the rooftop. They sat there in companionable silence, until Naruto felt the need to talk.

"I come here a lot." He began. Sasuke looked at Naruto. The slight breeze swayed his dull, sunshine-colored hair, and his pure azure eyes gazed at the rapidly darkening sky. "I don't want to go home... I mean, it's not like anyones waiting for me there, anyways..." Naruto laughed awkwardly like he always did, attempting to smooth-over the situation. Sasuke was not convinced. "I guess I'd always had a habit of loitering, ne?" Naruto grinned. Sasuke stared at him, different emotions visibly surging through his passionate, inky eyes.

"Though, its not like you care." Naruto spat. Sasuke looked impassive, and Naruto felt a tinge of anger swell in the pit of his stomach. Sasuke was never easy to read. In fact, it was almost impossible. It ticked Naruto off, how he could be so emotionless like that.

"You've always really been a jerk you know that?" Naruto growled, returning his gaze towards the sky. "You always made fun of me. You never... Never complimented me, or congratulated me. Hell, it took forever for you too just realize that we were even_ friends." _

It was true. Sasuke never had acknowledged that the two of them were friends, until Itachi had pointed it out to them.

_It had been a long day, and Sasuke was angry at Naruto for staining his white shorts while playing soccer. The two boys walked to his Sasuke's house. They always went there after school, it was more fun at his house. There was more snacks, games, and what-not. The pair tossed their shoes and back-packs in the family room, and raced to the kitchen. Sasuke won of course. He greeted Itachi, who was silently studying at the counter. Itachi was more of the quiet, observing type of person. He got up to go to his room to study, noticing that Naruto was back. _

_'Sasuke and the blonde boy were always so loud when they were together', Itachi mentally took note the first time Naruto came over._

_Naruto slid into the kitchen on his socks, crashing into Itachi. The blonde bumped back, and fell on his ass. Itachi stood there, raising a questioning eye-brow at the younger boy's antics. "Sorry Itachi!" Naruto hastily apologized, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. Sasuke turned around, looking at the pair who crashed. Itachi continued to stare at Naruto. "Hey, I said I was sorry, Mr. Weasel!" Naruto shouted, uncomfortable under the older Uchiha's gaze. Sasuke gapped at Naruto. No one ever dared call his heartless brother "Mr. Weasel." It was so childish, and unheard of._

_"Naruto..." Sasuke warned. Itachi reached his hand out towards Naruto, and the blonde flinched. Itachi's glare turned into a soft smile, and Naruto was taken aback._

_"It's alright, foolish little brother. I would never hurt one of your friends." Itachi said, helping Naruto off the floor. Naruto stared surprised at the older boy._

_"...Friends?" Sasuke asked, as if hearing the word for the first time. Naruto looked just as confused as Sasuke felt. _

_"Yes. You are friends, am I wrong?" Itachi smirked at his brother's dullness._

_ A wide grin found its way onto Naruto's face, and he ran over to Sasuke. "Yeah!" He cheered, glomping Sasuke. "We're the best of friends!"_

_"Oi, don't get to comfortable moron!" Sasuke grumbled, prying Naruto off of him. Itachi smirked. He felt a little proud that his brother had finally accepted the idea of having a friend. Especially since it wasn't another stuck-up rich kid, but a young orphan boy. Yes, even the great Itachi Uchiha had a soft-spot for the two young boys in front of him. _

Naruto and Sasuke sat there, a few silent minutes passing by. They both remembered the day vividly, as if it was yesterday. It _was_ the day that Sasuke had excepted the fact that they were friends, after all.

"Screw this," Naruto mumbled, standing up. "Im outta here." He scooped up his bag, and began briskly walking away when he heard Sasuke speak.

"I come here every day" Such a simple statement had Naruto stopping in his tracks. He turned around, glancing at Sasuke. But Sasuke hadn't even moved his positions. "Everyday, after student-council meetings. No one is ever home. And if they were there... They would surly want me to go do some extra-credit bull-shit or something like that. Things aren't the same as they were when we were little. I can't just go home and play video games like I, no, _we_ used to. My parents don't approve."

Something in Naruto snapped. "Who cares!" He shouted. "Who gives a damn what they think! You can do what you want! Your old enough! If their never there, how would they know anyway, huh?" Naruto took a deep breath. "Why don't you just forget about them and... and..."

"Be friends with you." Sasuke finished the blonde's sentence. Naruto was silent, and Sasuke scowled. "Thats impossible. Your asking me to forget about my parent's wishes and restore our friendship, but its not just that simple. I have my family's reputation to hold-up." Sasuke felt his anger growing.

"Sasuke, why do you have to please your parent so much?" Naruto practically pleaded. "I mean, y-"

"You wouldn't understand!" Sasuke yelled, snapping his head back at Naruto, who was shocked by the sudden out-burst. "You don't have a fucking family! You don't know what its like to need to be the best! To.. To hold-up certain standards, and do everything your suppose to do!"

"I have a family too!" Naruto shot back, fuming with anger. "Iruka, Kiba, Shikamaru, all my friends, their _all_ _my family,_ Sasuke!"

Sasuke seemed to consider this for a moment. "Think about it like this. I ask you to give up your family; Iruka, and who-ever, just to be friends with me. Doesn't that just seem a bit ridiculous? Its being_ selfish._"

Naruto was silent. Sasuke had a good point. But part of him was reluctant to believe it.

Sasuke gave out an agitated sigh. "I don't expect you to understand, being the moron you are, but I at _least_ expect you too lay-off and stop guilt-tripping me. I don't deserve it." The raven commented off-handedly, shrugging.

There it was. That arrogant attitude that Naruto hated so much.

"Fuck you."

Sasuke snapped his eyes open at the obvious insult. "_Excuse me_?" He seethed.

"I said, _fuck. you._" Naruto enunciated. "Your just a bastard, who thinks to highly of himself. Clearly, im not good enough to be in your all-mighty presence." Naruto growled. "So I'll just be leaving you to bask in your deluded, ass-hole-of-a-superiority-complex." The blonde spat, turning around _again._

"Tch. Your just running away from your problems." Sasuke said, laying down. "Can't we just start over?"

Naruto stopped, processing the new-found offer. Start over? What?

"The hell?" Naruto said incredulously, starring at the ebony boy. "_Start over_? Just like that?" Sasuke grunted. Naruto wanted to lash-out at the other man. He wanted to punch something, _someone_, or scream his head off, but another part of him suddenly became hopeful. Maybe this was his chance. He them remembered what Ino told him.

"I need a tutor." Naruto said, staring at Sasuke. "Could you... tutor me?" Naruto reluctantly asked. Sasuke stared at the embarrassed blonde. There was a moment pause, when the dark-haired man smirked and said, "Yeah. That would be great."

Naruto grinned hugely, and his eyes sparkled with new-found happiness. The boy sauntered over to Sasuke, and sat down closer to him than he previously was. "Gimme your number, and I'll text you later." Sasuke did as he said. Few minutes later, the two opposites decided to walk back down together. They didn't really converse, seeing as it was still a bit awkward between the two. As they came to the familiar open parking lot of the school, they turned their separate ways, and left to go home.

"Hey, Naruto" Sasuke called from over his shoulder. Naruto glanced back. "Nice cloths." Naruto didn't need to see Sasuke's face to know that he was smirking. Suppressing the urge to get angry at the raven, he composed himself.

"Thanks!" He grinned. "Your not too bad yourself, bastard. Though, I'd say I fill it better, being more manly and everything!" Sasuke felt a vein pop and he whipped around to shout at Naruto for insulting his man-pride. But when he look back, he saw Naruto's breath-taking grin and he waved his hand.

Sasuke felt his heart skip a beat. There was hope. Maybe, _just maybe,_ he could fix things.

* * *

><p>Ino sat on her fluffy bed in her girly pjs, logging onto her Facebook and Form-Spring. She was on her dark-purple lap-top that matched the rest of her room, which consisted of multiple colors, mainly purples and pinks. On the news feed of Facebook, she noticed Deidara's post on Itachi's wall:<p>

_"Just found out that Sasuke and Naruto are back on the road to friendship! I heard the whole conversation myself after student council meeting! Isn't this great, Itachi?"_ The post said. Deidara was once of Itachi's closer friends.

Ino squealed. Her plan was working. Soon she would be learning all about Sasuke from Naruto!

Naruto...

Ino felt her chest tighten with what she recognized as happiness. Pure, unselfish happiness. She was genuinely happy that Naruto could rekindle his lost friend-ship with his ex-best friend. She remembered how upset Naruto was when Sasuke severed their friendship. Ino sighed.

She was in love with a jerk.

She squeaked when she heard a notification on her computer. She switched tabs to form-spring, and noticed she had an anonymous question. It read:

_"I know what your doing."_

Ino felt her heart stop. Someone knew what she was doing? She glanced around, paranoid, and messaged back "What do you mean?" The response was almost immediate.

_"I know your whole scheme with Sasuke and Naruto. I must tell you, I don't approve. What will they think when I tell them the truth?"_

Ino panicked, eyes wide. Someone is going to tell them what she was doing? The blonde female quickly messaged the anonymous person back, questioning them, but of course, they didn't respond. A loud knock was heard from her door, and she nearly jumped out of her skin. She set her computer down on the lavender comforter, and strutted over to the door. When she opened it, she was greeted with her dad, Inoichi.

"You need something?" Ino asked, relieved it was only her dad.

"Its really late. Get to bed." He stated. Ino glanced at her clock, and realized it was already twelve at night.

"Eh-Heh, sorry Daddy" Ino laughed hesitantly. "I'll get to bed right now." Inoichi took a moment to examine his daughter, feeling something off about her. He dismissed the feeling, and they bid each-other goodnight before he left.

Ino closed her door, and let out a shaky breath. Still no new message she noticed, as she powered-down her computer, gingerly placing it on her wooden desk. She clicked off her light and climbed in bed. Ino rustled around, trying to make herself comfortable.

"I guess I wont ever know who sent the message..." She mumbled. Realization dawned on her when she made up her mind. She turned over, and looked at her ceiling. "I'll just have to hang around Naruto and Sasuke for the time-being. This anonymous person would never tell them in front of me." She nodded at her new-found plan.

_'The only problem is..._ ' Ino thought to herself. _'Who was the sender?'_

* * *

><p><strong>Phew! Another chapter done! Sorry for such a long wait!<br>Its hard, balancing school-work, dances, and and parental-problems! Im so sorry!**

**Oh yea, since it is AU, I figured they would have Face-book and all that good stuff. Im not to sure what form-spring is, though. I think its a website where your friends can ask anonymous questions to you...?**

**Any-who, I tried to make this chapter longer and more entertaining, so let me know what ya think!**

**Next Chapter: Everyones Got A Secret.  
><strong>**Ino puts her own plan into action, just as Naruto is! But will their plans work, or just blow-up in their faces? Sakura seems to be acting weird, and Sasuke is confronted with shocking information and he can't help but be suspicious of the others! Is the truth finally coming out?**

**Remember, more reviews cause faster updates :D**


	5. Chapter 5: Everyones got a secret

**Alright, I'll say it! I do like how the plot is coming out xD**  
><strong>It is a lot better than I expected. I also got a hella lot of alertsfavorites on the first day I updated, so THANK YOU :D**  
><strong>Still, not many reviews, but at least I know you all enjoy the story :)<strong>

**BTW: I KNOW Hinata doesn't like Sasuke, but INO doesn't know that, kay? She just assumes every girl likes him ;)  
>Plus, Deidara and Sasori need to be younger than Itachi in this fic (even though I know its the other way around) for it to work, so I appologize if you noticed that flaw.<strong>

**Oh, and sorry for OOC-ness as I've been told I do. I just needed Sasuke to be like that to get the story moving along without making it _too_ fast/slow. I feel like Sasuke would be more quiet around others. In the anime/manga, he seems most animated around Naruto (usually alone) so I tried to go off of that.  
>So again, im sorry!<strong>

**I find this story more fun to type than my other, though, I suppose more people like my other story more :/**

**Ready for a long chapter?**

**Lets get crackalackin'!**

* * *

><p>Yesterday, Naruto reached a new high. He played his whole conversation with Sasuke over and over in his head, until it was seared into his memory. Still, somethings were left unsaid, and it seems that they'll probably need to have another "talk" sometime soon, but that was okay. Naruto just had to focus on re-inventing his lost friendship.<p>

That was the first thing he did when he got to school.

Naruto's tutor sessions had a very complex schedule. He did have to fit it around Sasuke's schedule after all. So today, Tuesday before school, he had his very first tutor session. He met Sasuke in the library, in the back.

_'I come here a lot now...'_ Naruto noticed with slight disgust. He wasn't very fond of libraries. He spotted the familiar black hair at the farthest table, reading a book, and quickly took his seat across from the other.

"Naruto...?" Sasuke said, slightly amused. "Your here already?"

"Well, yeah" Naruto responded, slouching in his seat. "Aren't I on time?"

Sasuke smirked, closing his book. "Oh no, you are. I just didn't think you were going to _be_ on time." He explained, taking out his folder. Naruto pouted, taking out his own folder. "Lets start with Iruka's homework." Sasuke said. "What do you have?" Naruto pulled out a paper from his messy homework, and handed it to Sasuke. The inky-haired boy took the paper and scanned it over.

"Naruto..." Sasuke said, irritated. "This is due _today._" He pointed out.

Naruto grinned. "Exactly."

Sasuke sighed and clicked his pen as the two began to work. "Here, you need to write the final copy of this," He held out Naruto's essay. "I just need to make a few corrections on your paper first." He mumbled, fiercely marking notes and what-not on Naruto's paper. Naruto was getting impatient waiting for Sasuke to finish, and he peeked over his shoulder.

"Hey, I thought you 'just needed to make a few corrections'!" Naruto gapped. There were_ lots_ of corrections on the page.

"Yes, but Naruto, your not very good at spelling." Sasuke pointed out, his monotone voice began to tick Naruto off. "You spelled tomorrow wrong. You spelt it as t-o-m-m-a-r-r-o-w."

Naruto's face flushed in embarrassment. "Nuh-uh! J-Just... Shut up!" Naruto yelled, snatching his paper back. The blonde-haired librarian, Shiho, quickly shooshed Naruto for his loud behavior and Sasuke shot her an apologetic look.

"Sasuke? And... Naruto? What are you two doing here?" A familiar voice asked. The blonde boy and raven looked up. It was non other than Sakura. She was holding her books in her hands, blushing slightly. She looked a lot healthier than Naruto remembered her looking last class. Maybe she just had a bad day.

"Tutoring." Sasuke said curtly, trying to busy himself with non-existent work.

"Tutoring? Naruto?" Sakura snickered. "It'd take a miracle to teach this bozo something." She giggled, jabbing her thumb in Naruto's general direction.

"Hey!" Naruto yelled, shooting out of his chair and raising his voice level again. "Thats not nice! I'll have you know, I a-"

"Who are you talking to, Sakura?" Another female voice called out, and the three teens looked over.

"Great..." Naruto groaned, sitting back down. "Just what I needed. Karin the dyke interrupting my studying..."

Karin scoffed. "Wanna repeat that again, blondie?" She challenged, adjusting her glasses. Karin was a student with a perfect record, which was one of the reasons Naruto hated her. She was clingy, and had a raspy voice. She was also one of Sasuke's many admirers, which was sort of expected.

"Karin, Naruto..." A soft mumbled could be heard, and Karin turned around.

"Geez Hinata, learn to speak up" Karin huffed, crossing her arms. "I am t-terribly s-sorry.." Hinata bowed, begging for forgiveness. Naruto patted her head. "All is forgiven" He said with a playful smile. Hinata's face turned frightening shades of red as she became embarrassed. Sasuke snickered.

"Something wrong?" Sakura asked, her natural nurse instincts coming out.

"I... Im fine..." Hinata took a deep breath. She turned and faced the pair of boys occupying the desk. Her pale eyes glowed with intensity, and Naruto shifted under her gaze. He'd never seen her look so serious.

"Theres s-something..." She closed her eyes and took another deep breath. "Theres something I need to tell you... You see, I-"

"Hey guys!" Ino yelled from across the library. Hinata instantly stiffened, her face flushing again.

"_Ssshhh!_" Shiho hissed. Ino dismissed it as she hopped over to the group.

'_Just in time_' Ino thought. '_What if one of these people are the anonymous writer_?' She glanced between Sakura, Hinata, and Karin. _'They all liked Sasuke after all...' _Ino narrowed her eyes, and took a seat in-between Naruto and Sasuke.

Sakura paled, noticing Ino didn't intend on leaving. She weakly tugged at Karin's long-sleeve shirt. "Lets go..." She mumbled. Karin glanced between Ino and Sakura, before agreeing to leave.

Naruto watched their retreating figures. "What, their not even going to say goodbye?" He received no response. There was an awkward silence that fell over the three. Well, at least now that Ino had joined them.

Ino, sensing the tension in the air, tried to make conversation. _'Mine as well take this chance to get some more information about Sasuke~'_ She thought with glee.

"So!" Ino began cheerfully. "What are we doing?"

_"We"_ Naruto enunciated, "Are doing my homework. Right Bastard?" Naruto turned to mentioned bastard expectantly. Sasuke grunted, checking over Naruto's work.

Ino sighed. "Thats _soooo_ boring!" She commented, taking out her phone.

"Ooo, is that am IPhone?" Naruto asked in awe at Ino's shiny device.

Ino giggled. "Well, duh. Everyone has one!" She stated. "Well, everyone but you at least." Sasuke gave Ino an annoyed glare. "Sakura and I got ours at the same time! Our moms took us to the shop, and we just _had_ to have them" She explained. "We even got matching cases!"

"You two really are close..." Naruto pointed-out.

Ino's face dropped a little. "Were." She said, "We use to be."

"What do you mean? You look like you get along..."

Ino, wanting to change the subject, picked up one of Naruto's work-sheets and snickered. "You really are bad at this!" she commented cheerfully. Naruto glared and was about to say some form of a witty response, when the bell interrupted him. "Well, gotta get to class!" Ino smiled, standing up. "I'll see you there!"

* * *

><p>Kiba was still gone. He had been for a while, and Naruto was starting to get worried. He hadn't talked to him since their last phone-call on Sunday.<p>

_'I'll call him later._' Naruto made a mental note to himself.

Surprisingly enough, Sasuke had chosen to sit in the Inuzuka boy's seat. This came as a shock to the others, too. Of course, they all knew about the two's old friendship, but when you think about it, they never really made any move to make-up. They always bickered, like yesterday.

Of course, no one else was witness to their "intense" conversation on the roof. Well, no one but Deidara of course. But they let that slide.

Naruto glanced at the boy besides him. "What are you doing?" He whispered. Sasuke met his gaze.

"I thought we were trying to be friends again." He said, bluntly. Naruto couldn't help the smile that tugged on his lips. He looked back at the board, without realizing the small, almost non-existant, smile Sasuke had as well.

Days passed and after a week, Naruto and Sasuke being around each-other became a regular thing. People even noticed that Naruto seemed less obnoxious, and more silly. They also took note that Sasuke became less brooding and more content, much to his 'fan-girls' excitment.

Hey, the less moody he was, the easier he was to ask out. Of course, that didn't mean Sasuke actually accepted any of the offers.

"I guess them being friends is a good thing, then..." Karin mumbled, sipping from her strawberry smoothie. She was at Jamba Juice with some of her regular friends. The smoothie shop had lots of bright-orange interior, loaded with tables and colorful chairs. It was a very comfortable place. "But Ino seems to be around them a lot. Can't ever find a good moment to get some 'Sasuke-action' " The red-head smirked.

"Your all obsessed." Temari commented. Temari was a tough chick, with sandy, spikey blonde hair, and a quick-thinking brain. She was more of a tomboy than the others, excluding Tenten. She was Gaara's older sister, which is why she was so fond of Naruto. That blonde moron was her little brother's first _real_ friend.

"Oh, admit it." Sakura smiled slyly. "You find him attractive too."

Temari scoffed. "Yeah, I'll admit it. He is hot. But thats all there is too him." She commented, earning a few confused stares. Temari sighed, taking a sip of her smoothie. "Honestly, I don't know what Naruto sees in him. Sasuke is a prick. I guess its to be expected, him being rich and all," She explained. She was rewarded with multiple nods of agreement. "He only thinks of himself, and gets perfect grades. He probably spends more time doing his hair than I do. Hes just another pretty-boy. Like that knew kid, Sai."

They heard the bell of the door go off, and Hinata turned to see who it was. "H-Hi there, Ino..." She trailed off. Ino offered her a bright smile.

"One Banana Berry!" The blonde girl called out to the smoothie maker while pulling up a seat.

"I think Sai is gonna be really popular." Karin commented. "He looks like Sasuke, only hes nicer and more inviting."

"Oh, the new kid, Sai?" Ino said in question. "Hes socially retarded," She dejected, picking up her just-finished smoothie. "But he _does_ have the looks," Ino said, giving the cashier her money, before strutting back to her friends. "I'll give em' that. Maybe one of us will get the chance to go out with him" The blonde girl winked.

"Ah-hem. Back to Naruto and Sasuke," The recently silent Tenten spoke-up. "They hang-out a lot for a couple of boys who are 'just friends' dont you think?" She asked.

Karin scoffed. "What are you trying to say? That Sasuke and Naruto are ga-"

Ino squeaked as she felt her phone vibrate. She jumped, knocking Sakura's and her own smoothie spill. "Oh my goodness!" Ino yelled. "Im so sorry, Sakura!" Ino hastily grabbed napkins and began whipping the cold, pink slush off the table.

"It's okay, Ino." Sakura said with a smile. "You just owe me a new one." The pink girl grinned. The two girls put their phones and wallets on the table behind them to keep it out of harms way. An employee eventually came over to help, and Temari deemed it time to leave. The other girls agreed, grabbing their bags. Ino grabbed her things and they all went their separate ways.

Sakura was walking down the side of the shopping center. She walked to Jamba Juice because her car was currently broken. She figured it was healthier to walk there anyways, since she lived so close. Sakura absentmindedly patted her skirt pocket, and her eyes widened. "My wallets gone! My phone too!" She began to panic and she ran back to the store. Upon entering, she sighed in relief as she saw the familiar cellular device and pink wallet. Just to make sure, Sakura opened her wallet and checked to be positive that everything was there.

Sakura took her things and shoved it in her purse. She had to hurry home and study after all.

* * *

><p>Sakura sat at her study desk in her room. She tapped her pencil irritably, frustrated with her science homework. Sakura wanted to be a medic, like her parents, when she grew up. But anatomy was so hard to memorize. Sakura gave in, and swerved her chair around. She got up and grabbed her remote off of her night-stand.<p>

Sakura had a medium sized room, mainly full of pinks, reds, and whites. She had a cherry-red wooden floor that complimented all the colors in her room perfectly.

She clicked on her t.v. for comfort noise. She was annoyed with how quiet it was in her room. Sakura decided to sit down and began watching MTV. "It's about time I take a break." She told herself, as she took a sip of her water-bottle. Sakura sighed when she heard her phone vibrate. She got up, and grabbed the electronic device. The pinkette sat down on her bed, and tapped the screen. Sakura frowned. This isn't her phone.

It was Ino's.

"Oh no..." She mumbled as she stared at the lock screen. _'I have Ino's phone.. I have her whole private life in my hand...'_ As that thought dawned on her, Sakura's fingers itched with anticipation. She knew what she was doing was wrong, but she couldn't help herself once Sakura saw who the text-message was from. Sakura slid the lock open. There was no code or password after all. She opened the text message.

It was from Naruto.

+_'Got some more info 4 u. Sasuke likes sweet-food & bright colors. He just tries 2 maintain a certain image, that prick.' _

Sakura froze. She knew Ino was unusually hanging around Naruto and Sasuke a lot, but... Naruto was giving her info about Sasuke? Sakura felt a little bit betrayed by them. How could they do that? Sakura wasn't stupid. She knew Ino tried to rig the Halloween compatition. So, when Ino was doing her make-up, she changed it. If she couldn't be with Sasuke, neither should Ino. Sakura knew Ino was slowly advancing on the boy, and she was jealous. But Naruto? He was helping her?

"There has to be more too it..." She thought out-loud. Sakura deleted Naruto's message. She didn't want Ino to have that info, after all. She then made up her mind.

"I guess I'll have to do some investigating of my own."

* * *

><p>Naruto felt a little guilty sending Ino that text. It <em>was<em> fake after all. But Naruto didn't like Ino's plan. So, he came up with a plan of his own. He would feed Ino false information about Sasuke. It was a bit cruel, but Naruto found himself becoming quickly attached to Sasuke again. Everything was familiar about the boy; his hair, his attitude, his smell... Frankly, he didn't think Ino deserved Sasuke. Besides, Uchihas were too high-maintenance.

Speaking of Uchihas, Naruto was actually in Sasuke's restroom. He was currently being tutored by Sasuke, of course. Sasuke was all business after all. Naruto put his phone away, and washed his hands. He opened the door, and walked through the familiar kitchen.

Naruto walked over to the fridge, and grabbed a couple of sodas, and some chips on his way back to Sasuke. They were studying upstairs in Sasuke's room.

Naruto noticed that the bedroom changed dramatically, but he still noticed few things that stayed the same. Like, Sasuke still had his same t.v. and video games. He even still had his secret collection of manga in a box under his bed. Naruto was slightly impressed that Sasuke still kept it. He thought that the raven boy would have gotten rid of them by now.

"I got us some nutritious snacks on my way back!" Naruto cheered, setting down the 'nutritious' food down on the floor. Sasuke didn't even glance up from his work.

Naruto huffed. "We've been doing work all day! Lets take a break!"

"Thats why your here, dumb-ass." Sasuke commented dryly. "To get tutored, remember? And keep your voice down."

Naruto growled and began walking around the room. "Ne, Sasuke... Lets play video-games!"

"No." Sasuke said plainly.

"Sasuke~" Naruto sang._ "Pleaseeee?"_

"No."

"Godammit, Sasuke, what crawled up your ass and died? I just wanna play one simple video game!" Naruto yelled, exasperated."

Black met Blue in a fierce battle of will.

"You can do what _you_ want." Sasuke said, erasing one of his mistakes on his homework. "Im finishing my work."

"Why do you do that, Sasuke?" Naruto pouted. Sasuke looked at him quizzically. "I mean, you make me feel bad! You make me feel like im sucha slacker and can't do anything right..."

"Isn't that exactly how you are?" Sasuke asked, raising a brow. Naruto was just about ready to pounce on Sasuke when they heard keys.

They froze.

The two sat there in silence for a moment, trying to hear any movement. Sasuke swiftly got up, and softly opened his bedroom door. He gingerly walked down the hallway, Naruto following behind him.

The two boys waited at the top of the stairs, staring at the door. It opened with a soft push and revealed a tall man, with black hair. He was wearing simple dark jeans, maroon jacket, and dark tee.

A spitting image of Sasuke. An older version of Sasuke.

Itachi Uchiha.

"Itachi...?" Naruto whispered in question. Sasuke didn't move. Why was _Itachi_ here? He defiantly wasn't in the mood to deal with Naruto _and_ Itachi at the same time.

Itachi walked past the stairs and into the kitchen. Sasuke and Naruto made no attemt to move. They heard russling, and Itachi was back in the living room. The older Uchiha sat on the couch, clicked on the t.v., and propped his feat up on the dark-wood coffee table.

"Why are you hiding, Sasuke." Itachi stated, more than asked. He didn't even glance from the t.v. as he took a long sip from his soda. Sasuke composed himself and stood up. He slowly walked down the stairs and leaned against the wall. Sasuke didn't really know what to say. It had been a while since Itachi was home.

Sasuke settled for silence, as he stared intently at the man who ruined his life so much.

"You need something, little brother?" Itachi asked rather monotonly. Sasuke brisled at the old nick-name. "What are you doing here?" He asked.

"You can tell your friend to stop hiding too." Itachi pointed out. Naruto's breath hitched.

"Answer the question." As Sasuke spoke, Naruto scrambled up, but misplaced his footing, and nearly summer-salted down the stairs. Luckily, they were carpeted.

"Fuck..." Naruto mumbled as he groaned in pain. Sasuke restrained from giving himself a face-palm.

"Naruto?" Itachi asked in amusment. Truthfully, Itachi was pleasantly suprised. Though, he didn't show it. He prefured to mask his emotions.

"Hey there, Itachi~" Naruto mumbled, rubbing his abused head. "It's been a while, ne?" Itachi nodded.

"I came out because I heard that my little brother was going to star in his school play."

Naruto scoffed. "A school play? Have you really lowered yourself that much, Sasuke?" He giggled.

Sasuke glared at the laughing blonde. Itachi smirked."My thoughts , I just thought I would pay my family a visit while Im out here."

Naruto nodded, enthusiasticaly. "Awesome! So you'll be here for a few days?" The blonde asked, eagerly.

"Naruto, go get your things. Its getting late anyways." Sasuke ordered, not ever taking his eyes of his brother. Naruto was about to yell back at the raven, but then he got a good look at Sasuke and decided against it. Sasuke was brooding, like he usually does, but something looked off about the younger Uchiha.

Sasuke looked worried.

Naruto glanced between the two Uchihas, before walking back up stairs. Itachi waited until he heard Naruto's foot-steps stop and door close before he spoke.

"Does Mother and Father know?"

Sasuke waited for a moment before sighing. "No."

Itachi arched his brow, amused. "Well, you should tell them. The sooner, the better." Itachi reasoned. Sasuke nodded.

"Is that what this is really about?" Itachi asked, suddenly serious. "Is this about winning father's approval, Sasuke?" He was awarded with silence. "Sasuke, you know, I-"

"You don't understand, Itachi!" Sasuke snapped. "They don't want me to be a screw-up like you, so Im going to work my ass off to be the son that they can be proud of!"

Itachi looked momentarily hurt, but he quickly covered it up. He didn't dare show weakness to his brother's hurtful words. "Well, Im just glad that you two are trying to be friends again." The older Uchiha admitted. "Just don't get caught-up in your feelings again, and mess it up. You might not get another chance to make things right."

The two silenced as Naruto hopped passed them, towards the door. He seemed completely oblivious to the tension in the aoir. "Thanks for tutoring me, prick! Oh, and bye Itachi!" Naruto smiled before closing the door.

"Prick? Sasuke, are you just going to take that?" Itachi asked.

"Oh spare me, im not going to lower myself to that idiot's level."

"Really? Seems to me like you already did. Your leading in your school's play, are you not?" Itachi mused. Sasuke growled, and returned to the safety of his room.

Itachi and Naruto knew just how to push his buttons.

* * *

><p>Play practice was a pain in the ass. Well, at least, thats what Sasuke thought of it as he waited back-stage. He sat on a couch-like chair, going over his lines.<p>

"Mind if we join you, Sasuke?" An unfamiliar voice asked. Sasuke looked up, and realized it was that new kid, Sai, and the quite girl, Hinata. He grunted, giving the two silent approval. Sai and Hinata sat down across from the Uchiha.

"So, have you memorized your lines yet, Sasuke?" Sai asked, attempting to make small-talk. Sasuke looked up at the boy who spoke.

"Hn." Was all he gave as a response.

"Ah, I take that as yes?" Sai smiled. His smile looked rather forced, Sasuke noticed. It kinda creeped him out. "So, are your friends coming to see you preform?" He asked to the two. Hinata meekly nodded. "And you?" Sai asked, glancing back at Sasuke.

"Hn."

Sai was silent for a moment, before he began scanning through his script. "Well, I'm sure they are... I mean, if their your real friends." That caught Sasuke's attention.

"What do you mean?" The raven asked, intrigued.

"Well, my sources tell me that Narutos not really your friend. Hes just going to get revenge on you. Can't say I blame him though. And it's not like you really have any other 'friends'."

"What are you talking about? Narutos not even smart enough to plan revenge on me. That would never happen." Sasuke scoffed. Still, a small voice in the back of his head was nagging at him.

"I think Inos in on it too..." Hinata said quietly. Now this slightly surprised Sasuke.

"Well, I guess it only makes sense. I mean, Ino is hanging around Naruto a lot more, now." Sai reasoned.

Sasuke was having none of it. "I don't care. Naruto wouldn't do that. You can believe what you want."

"We can help you, you know." Sai offered, crossing his legs. Sasuke raised a brow. "I mean, get some information for you. If thats what you want, I mean."

"No thanks." Sasuke brushed off the proposal.

"Well, heres my number if you change your mind," Sai offered him a piece of paper with his number scribbled on it. Sasuke sighed at how cliche the whole thing was. "Don't worry, I wont need it." Still, he took the paper anyway. Hinata bowed before walking away by Sai's side.

_'their an odd pair...'_ Sasuke thought. He glanced back down at the number. He wasn't gonna need this, right? He trusted Naruto. He really did. He knew that it was probably a bad idea to be fully trusting of the blonde that quickly, but he couldn't help it. He had been so used to being around Naruto when he was younger, it felt only natural. He sighed heavily, shoving it in his pocket. He probably wouldn't call him anyway.

Probably.

* * *

><p><strong>And so, the plot thickens xD<br>Sakura and Sasuke are getting suspicious, Kibas still gone, Sai and Hinata know whats up, Ino thinks shes in control, and Narutos pretty much caught in the middle.  
>What could go wrong?<strong>

**Lol, I just stopped the chapter here, cause I didn't feel like typing anymore. I just typed this chapter, as well as a chapter for my other story, so Im super exhausted. How do you people update so fast O_o**

**Next Chapter: Back-fire  
>Sasuke can't help but feel uneasy about the new information presented to him, and he finds himself with a surprising new ally. Naruto keeps feeling jealous, and he can't explain why! Ino finds herself with a new love-interest and becomes uncertain with her and Naruto's plan. Itachi reveals Sasuke and Naruto's friendship to his parents. Just how will they react? Lastly, Sasuke comes to a shocking conclusion with his own feelings. <strong>

**Hope this story isn't too boring -_-"'  
>Im trying to make stuff happen. Plus, imma try to add more hints of SasuNaru next chapter, and them I'll get things rolling, kay?<strong>

**Reviews cause faster updates :D **


	6. I'm not dead! :D

HI GUISE! IM NOT DEAD!

Oh my glob, I am SO SO SO SO SOSOSOSO sorry for not updating. UGH.

I got lost on the road to life~ (ah hah, pulling a Kakashi, what have i become -_-)

I've been super busy lately, with my dentist appointments, my friend who passed aways birthday, and Warped Tour, etc, and Im sorry, it just sounds like I'm making excuses... .

ANYWAYS,  
>Im just updating to let you all know that I WILL update my stories soon, I promise! I know what it feels like to love a story, and its never updated again ;_;<p>

(I had the next chapters for all 3 of my stories typed and ready to go, but FanFic deleted them ALL. So I have to write them again -_-  
>But, i WILL get it done! That is, if you all still want me to...)<p>

To be honest, I didn't think anyone really cared about my stories anymore, cause no one was reviewing or favoriting or anything, so I was kinda like "Whelp, no one cares anymore, why should I"

But I hope you all haven't given up on me! Thanks for sticking with me this long!  
>I appreciate it SO much!<p>

So, I'll get crackilackin on those chapters right away ^-^  
>-Soruka-chan<p> 


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